Forbidden love
by Xannijn
Summary: A wedding is coming, with Katara as the unhappy bride. Beyond the tears of her forced marriage, she seeks for strenght and hope with Zuko. They pull each other in the destiny of passion, blinded by their own lusts, losing eye for the future...
1. summary

Okay, this is the actual summary. First of all, I have to warn you for the adult content in this story. Maybe you didn't notice, but the story is rated M, that means there will be lots of passion and sexual contact. If you don't like that, then do not read this story. You have been warned.

To prevent confusion, I'll tell you this: 

Zuko is back in the firenation, seventeen and accepted as prince. His father realized he couldn't go on without his son, knowing he was getting old and he was running out of time. Azula wasn't the girl that would marry a decent man, so he decided to forgive Zuko. Aang is teaching how to bend fire in the firenation, an old firebender suggested to help him. Sokka and Katara live in the firenation now, with their father. The war is ending, because firelord Ozai is feeling too old to continue this war. Sokka and Katara's father is teaching young waterbenders in the firenation.

But because Sokka, Katara and their father are from the watertribe, they belong to the normal people in the village. Zuko belongs to the royal family, and is teaching how to become a good firelord.

What's the story about:

On a regular morning, Zuko sees Katara waterbending somewhere on the beach. He admires her more than anything else, and before he even realizes it, he falls in love with the watertribegirl. And against the will of the firelord, he goes to the beach, to meet her every night. It's love on the first sight, but the hard world of the firenation seems to separate them more and more.

Katara's father forces her to do something she really doesn't want to do, while Zuko is struggling against his own destiny. Can their love find a way through this world? Will the village accept their love? And even worse: how can they ever protect Katara against the evil Konu?

Why I'm writing this:

In some places on this world, woman have no rights. It pisses me off, so that's why I write this: I want to show it's wrong to treat woman and girls like garbage. So actually, this story has a deep meaning. Of course, I also have a personal reason for why I'm writing this, but I'd rather keep that as a secret.

ENJOY!:D


	2. Chapter 1, surprise

**Here he goes! Zuko, prince of the fire nation, talks with his father, who is extremely ill. And after that, he sees Katara… **

**Let me say this again to prevent certain flames: 1.I'm from Belgium, where people speak Dutch, a language completely different from English, so do not flame about grammar mistakes! 2.This story is rated T, this is a warning! Do not flame if you notice sex in this story! And 3: It's a Zutara story. Do not flame if you don't like Zutara, because if you don't like this pairing, you really should read something else!**

Chapter 1

Surprise

The sun rose, and Zuko woke up. He opened his eyes and saw the sealing of his room.

'Prince Zuko, prince Zuko?' a voice asked. Zuko stared at his door and sighed.

'I'm already awake!' he said. The voice opened the door and a man came inside. He bowed for Zuko and bit on his lip.

'Your majesty, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your father isn't doing well, he feels even worse today. We thought we had an improvement yesterday, but it seems like that the medication we gave only worked temporally.' he said, averting his eyes. Zuko sighed and stared at the floor. His father was having troubles with his health, he knew that, they didn't have to remind him about that every single day!

He crawled out of his bed and nodded.

'Thank you for telling me. I'll talk to him right away.'

The man bowed again and left the room. Zuko sighed deep and sat down on his bed. They had the best doctors on earth in the palace, and yet they couldn't heal his father. It seemed like his father wouldn't live for long anymore, knowing that made Zuko feel like his heart was ripped out.

He took on some clothes and ran to his fathers room, as fast as he could.

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Zuko opened the door slowly and peeked inside. In the huge bed lay his father, sounding to have troubles with breathing. Zuko swallowed something down his throat and walked inside.

'Who's dares to enter my room?' Ozai said. Zuko bowed for his father and stared at him.

'I do, father. Please forgive me, I wanted to know how you feel.'

Ozai sighed deeply and closed his eyes. 'I'm fine, Zuko. Not as fine as yesterday, but at least better than last week.'

Zuko averted his eyes. Last week his father nearly died. The medication they gave him didn't work, his heart nearly stopped beating. Fortunately one of their doctors gave him a hart massage just in time, this doctor had a promotion right away.

'Father,' Zuko whispered, 'you're not going to die, are you?' he asked. Ozai took a deep breath and coughed.

'No, Zuko, not yet. I thought I already told you I'd feel it once the time was there!'

Zuko nodded and sighed. 'Yes, father, I just don't want you to die already.'

'Zuko,' the fire lord said, 'I'll stay alive. I know that for sure.'

Zuko looked up at his father. 'Then why do I have to teach how to be a decent fire lord already? I'm only seventeen, usually the prince has those lessons once he's eighteen.'

Ozai closed his eyes, he seemed very tired. 'Nobody knows what will happen in the future, perhaps you will be needing those lessons.'

Zuko gasped. So there WAS a chance that he'd die. He walked to the door and opened it.

'Rest some more, father, you need your rest.' He left the room and ran to his room. Once he got there, he stared out of his window and smiled when he saw Iroh, sitting on the huge balcon. He went to the balcon, he felt like he had to talk to someone.

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Iroh smiled when he saw his nephew, running in his direction.

'Zuko, it's great to see you! I need you to keep an eye on my tea, warn me once it's ready, I have to do something.'

He stood up and left the balcon. Zuko sighed and smacked himself on the forehead. This happened every time he really needed his uncle.

He sat down on the chair his uncle sat on and stared at the tea. A few minutes later, he felt terribly bored.

Suddenly, he heard children screaming. He stood up and hung over the railing, so he could see the village better.

When he heard the screams came from the other side of the balcon, he turned around and gasped.

On the beach were some children, just playing. They screamed to make their game look more real. The children weren't what surprised Zuko, but the older girl with them was.

She had a beautiful blue dress, probably from the water tribe. The part around her neck was really wide, so the dress nearly fell off her shoulders. Her neck and a part of her chest were very prominent, because you almost saw her breasts. The dress was long enough to hide her legs and knees, so it made her body look even more beautiful. Her dark skin made her blue eyes even more prominent, and her long hair was probably the most beautiful hair in the entire village. She was playing along with the children, it seemed like the children really liked her.

He couldn't help to stare, even when his uncle returned.

Iroh stared at his cup of tea, at Zuko and he lifted and eyebrow. He followed Zuko's gaze and his eyes grew bigger when he saw what he was staring at.

He smiled and crossed his arms.

'Well, well, that watertribegirl turned out to be a beautiful woman.' he said. Zuko gasped and pointed at her.

'THAT's the girl that traveled with the Avatar?' he asked. Iroh nodded and sighed.

'Amazing how people can change in only one short year. I heard the Avatar is teaching how to firebend in the fire nation, and their father has a job here. So they had to move to this village.' Iroh said. Zuko's gaze turned back to the girl and Iroh smiled. The old man could read Zuko's thoughts just by seeing his gaze: the teenager was pleasantly surprised.

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Later that day, the sun was going down. Zuko was still on the balcon, staring at the girl. She was enjoying the sunset, while Zuko was enjoying her.

'She's beautiful…' he mumbled. It was a miracle: she lifted all his sorrows, though he never spoke to her. Since the moment he saw her, his mind was so busy observing her beauty, that he forgot all about his father.

Iroh came on the balcon again and gasped when he saw Zuko, still standing on the same place as hours ago. He came a few steps closer and smiled.

'You really seem to like her, prince Zuko.' he said. Zuko nodded and sighed.

'You bet I do! She's like the most beautiful girl on the world!' he said, nearly shouting. Iroh laughed and shook his head. He put his hands in his sleeves and stared at the girl as well.

'This is incredible, Zuko. You do know what this means, right?'

Zuko looked at his uncle quickly, but his gaze turned back to Katara automatically.

'What does it mean then?'

'Behold!' Iroh said. 'Our very own Zuko, prince of the fire nation, is in love.'

**(I've been working on this idea for a while, but I never really wrote it down. So I guess this is good as a fourth story! Believe me: the plot will turn out interesting. It's based on the way people were separated in the Middle Ages, I saw a documentary on it last week. It gave me great inspiration for a fluffy Zutarastory! REVIEW!:D)**


	3. Chapter 2, the meeting

**Okaaay, perhaps the plot is moving a bit fast, but my chapters are longer than usually. Now, Zuko tries to get closer to Katara, but Azula hears the news from Iroh, who was stupid enough to tell her. So she follows Zuko to the beach, and find out everything…**

**And we all know Azula's a SLUT, so I'll make her look like on here too! Damn I really hate Azula, and Zhao, yeah Zhao is an asshole! Sorry, just had to say that…**

Chapter 2

The meeting

The next day, Zuko woke up early. He didn't sleep much that night, his mind was locked on the beautiful girl he saw on the beach. He wished he could see her again soon, just see her, he didn't ask for a conversation or something, he just HAD to see her again.

He crawled out of his bed and opened the window. He never noticed it before, but he was happy he had a sight on the beach.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of playing children again. Somewhere on the beach, the same children as the day before that one were playing a game again.

Zuko hung out of his window so he could see the children better, and a bright smile colored his face when he saw Katara again. She was hugging one of the children and laughing when all the children tickled her.

Zuko sighed in relief and stared at her. She seemed so sweet, so kind. The way she treated this children was touching, she treated them like it were children of her own.

He gasped. What if they were? What if the girl of his dreams already had a man in her life? He felt like a spear bored through his heart and he averted his eyes. Could it be? The girl he loved more than anyone else in the world, meant to be with someone else?

That moment, his uncle came in. He smiled when he saw his nephew, staring at Katara again.

'She's up early.' he teased. Zuko sighed and turned his head to his uncle.

'Probably to play with her children…' he said, clearly disappointed. Iroh laughed and had a good look at the children. He shook his head and placed a hand on Zuko's back.

'Oh, Zuko, the youngest kid of that gang is at least four. She couldn't possible have a four yearold kid, I mean: she's fifteen!'

Zuko looked up and smiled. Iroh was right. He released a sigh in relief and stared at her again.

'So she's still single?' he asked. Iroh smiled and squeezed in Zuko's shoulder.

'I'm sure she is! You should go to her, and grab your chance.'

Zuko laughed loudly and crossed his arms. 'Yeah right!' he said. 'Like she'd love me as much as I love her!'

Iroh shrugged. 'Worth the shot.' But when he saw Zuko didn't agree with him, a grimace appeared on his face. He stroke over his beard and shrugged again.

'Okay, if you don't want to ask her, then so be it. But you must know that this is your only chance, because I'm sure…'

He stepped to the door slowly and turned back to Zuko. '…I'm sure that other boys think she's beautiful as well. And such a pretty girl won't stay on the street for long.'

Zuko gasped and his eyes grew bigger. Iroh was right! If he wouldn't ask her, someone else would!

He took some clothes on as fast as he could and ran to the door.

'Uncle,' he said, 'if you need me, I'm on the beach!'

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Iroh came into the kitchen, with a bright smile on his face. He knew his nephew good enough, that teenager could be extremely jealous.

Azula sat at the table and stared at her uncle.

'What are you smiling about?' she asked. Iroh sat down as well and shook his head.

'Sorry, Azula, but I can't tell. Zuko would kill me.' he said. Azula thought about it for a while, and a grimace appeared on her face. She leaned forward on the table and stared at Iroh.

'Oh? Why would he kill you, then?'

'Because it's a secret!' he said.

Azula rubbed in her hands. 'What secret? My brother would tell me anything, you know…'

Iroh shook his head.

'No,' he said, 'I'm still not telling! If you knew he's going to the beach to see a girl you'd tell everyone!' He gasped and smacked his hands on his mouth. Azula stood up and smiled.

'I know enough, my dear uncle, thank you very much!' she said. She left the kitchen and ran outside, while her grimace grew bigger and bigger.

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Zuko sat behind a dune, and he stared at Katara. His heart was hitting against his chest so hard that it gave him troubles with breathing.

'Common!' he said to himself. 'Go and talk to her, it's just a girl!'

He sighed and leaned against the dune. 'A girl you used to hate…' he said.

He wanted to get up, so he could go back to the palace, but suddenly a kid jumped in his lap. Zuko stared at the kid for a while, until more kids came. They threw a ball, meant for the kid in his lap, and hit Zuko in the face.

'You're it!' the kids yelled. Zuko rubbed over his cheek and growled in anger. He glared at the children, when someone laid a hand on his shoulder.

'Are you alright?' a gentle voice asked. Zuko looked up, straight in the eyes of Katara. She smiled and helped him up.

'I'm so sorry, I told them they had to be more careful but…' She gasped and stared at Zuko.

'You… You're Zuko!' she said. Zuko bit on his lip and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Yeah, I'm home again. I…'

Katara gave him no chance to finish his sentence. 'You're here to catch the Avatar again, huh? I won't let you do that, he's in training now!' she yelled. Zuko tried to calm her down and stepped back.

'No! No, I don't want him anymore! I already have my place back here.'

Katara frowned, and sighed. She never really hated him, she just… Well, she didn't quite know what she thought about him. He was always trying to get the Avatar, always so tensed. Sometimes he scared her, and sometimes…

A kid pulled at her sleeve and pointed to the others.

'Katara, Katara, they won't let me play with them!' he complained. Katara stared at the others and shook her head.

'That's very, very mean, kids! You can hurt someone very much by excluding him or her.' she said. The other kids averted their eyes, and a cute, little girl stepped forward.

'We're sorry, Katara…' she said. Katara smiled and gave the girl a hug.

'Very good, sweety, sometimes it can be hard to apologize.' The girl smiled and ran back to the others. The kids continued their game, and Zuko smiled at Katara.

'You're good with children.' he said. Katara shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck. 'Could be, they're not mine if you think that.'

Inside his head Zuko cheered, but on the outside he tried to hide his happiness.

'Oh, really?' he asked. 'You treat them like they are your own children, so I thought…' Katara laughed and shook her head.

'Oh, please, I'm not old enough to have this many children already. I mean, I'm…' She stopped her sentence right there. She wanted to say "I'm only fertile since last week", but she didn't think he had to know that. The less people knowing it the better.

'…I'm only fifteen.' she said instead. Zuko nodded and apologized right away. 'Yes, I'm sorry, where are my manners? A girl like you isn't ready for children yet, god I feel stupid…'

Katara gasped, did Zuko just apologize? She smiled and shrugged.

'It doesn't matter. These are the children from my fathers students, I'm helping him by keeping them busy so their parents can practice their waterbending.'

'I see.' Zuko said. He bit on his lip, if he wouldn't ask her now, he would never ask her. He took a deep breath and came a step closer.

'Say, I have nothing to do tonight, so I wondered if you… You know, if we can meet here again?'

Katara gasped and her eyes grew bigger. Zuko averted his eyes, bad move. But instead of smacking him in the face, Katara smiled lightly.

'That's fine with me. My father wants me to be somewhere else than at home tonight, because he wants to fix the roof. There is a chance the whole building collapses, so it's safer when I'm gone.'

Zuko smiled and nearly cheered. 'That's great!' he yelled. Katara lifted an eyebrow and he quickly changed his sentence.

'I mean, it's not great that your house can collapse, or that your roof is broken, I just…'

Katara laughed and put a finger on his lips. 'I understand, don't worry. Tonight by sunset, here on the beach, at this dune, okay?'

Zuko nodded and stared at the finger on his lips. Her finger felt soft, and all he really wanted was kiss that finger kindly, but the children staring at him stopped him.

Katara pulled her hand back and clapped in her hands. 'Common, kids!' she yelled. 'We're going home, it's time to see your parents again!'

The kids cheered and some of them made joy jumps, and they followed Katara back to the village. Katara turned back to Zuko and waved friendly, so Zuko waved back.

Once they were gone, he made a joy jump as well and cheered.

'I did it!' he cheered.

Azula sat somewhere behind other dunes, giggling. It was SO obvious: her brother was in love. She nearly laughed aloud when she saw his gaze the moment that girl laid her finger on his lips, it was hilarious to see her brother that way.

She followed Zuko back to the palace and giggled again. She could hardly wait!

**(Perhaps Zuko is a bit OOC, but let me put it this way: he has changed since he came back to the palace. And he's seventeen now, people can change a lot in one year! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, REVIEW!:D)**


	4. Chapter 3, protection

**Time for some Zutarafluffiness! I really feel like writing that now! Zuko goes to the beach, so he can be with Katara. Katara holds a secret, a secret that can change her entire life. Oh, and we meet the two OC characters of this story, if you can't stand them then it's okay, you're supposed to hate them!**

**This shows a soft side of Zuko, I know that, and I also know some of you will consider him as OC. But you don't have to tell me that, because he's supposed to be that!**

Chapter 3

Protection

Zuko was walking from one side of his room to another, as nervous as he could possibly be. Iroh came in and lifted and eyebrow when he saw Zuko doing that.

'Are you feeling alright?' he asked. Zuko nodded and bit on his lip.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a bit nervous…'

Iroh smiled and put a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

'Zuko,' he said, 'you don't have to be nervous. As long as you stay yourself, I'm sure she'll love you just as much as you love her. That's what you want, right?'

Zuko nodded again and rubbed the back of his neck.

'But what if she doesn't? What if she hates me even more now than when I was the enemy?'

Iroh laughed. He shook his head and sighed.

'Just do it, okay? You'll see, things will work out as long as you follow your heart.'

What Iroh said reminded Zuko of an ordinary love soap, but he kept that remark in his mind. He knew his uncle was right, he always was.

He saw the sun was setting, so he ran to the door of his room. He turned back to Iroh and thanked him quickly, so he could head for the beach.

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Zuko arrived at the beach and he gasped. There she was, sitting on the dune, staring over the ocean. She wore a normal, white dress now, and still she looked as beautiful as always. The smile on her face made Zuko tremble, and he sighed.

He walked on the dune and sat down next to her. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled.

'Hi, Katara…' he said. Katara smiled as well. 'Hey, Zuko.'

She stared over the ocean again, and Zuko stared at her instead.

'God, you're beautiful…' he mumbled. Katara heard that and gasped. She turned her head and looked him straight in the eyes.

'What did you say?' she asked. Zuko blushed like a freak and stuttered, that sure was a blooper. He sighed and pulled a smile on his face. Iroh told him to stay himself, Iroh was always right, so he listened to him.

'I said you're beautiful.' he answered. Katara felt a blush burning on her cheeks and she averted her eyes.

'Wow, that's… That's very sweet, Zuko.'

Zuko felt happier than ever before and he couldn't help to smile brightly. He stared at her dress and pointed at it.

'Where is your blue dress?' he asked. Katara bit on her lip and pulled her knees up.

'At home. This dress actually is my, uhm, pajama. I'm supposed to be asleep now, but I escaped so I could be here.' She said. Zuko doubted first, but after that he laid his hand on her shoulder. He pulled at the sleeve a bit and stared at the white cloth.

'Why is it white? I mean, you're a waterbender, waterbenders always wear blue clothes I thought.'

Katara averted her eyes. She couldn't tell him the truth, she had to keep it as a secret. Or else everyone could find out. She remembered her father's words so well, it was scaring actually.

_--------------------------------------------_

'_Katara, come over here, at once!' her father said. Katara did what he told her and walked to him. She stared in his stern eyes and bit on her lip, this seemed serious._

'_What's wrong, dad?' she asked. Her father crossed his arms and sighed._

'_Katara, I want you to know I wasn't the one who came up with this idea. His father was, and if I could I'd refuse his offer but I can't. We need this.'_

_Katara didn't understand what he meant. She lifted an eyebrow and stared her father in the eyes._

'_What do you mean?' she asked. Her father laid a hand on her cheek and sighed._

'_I spoke to mister Kuaru, you know, the rich guy living somewhere near here?'_

_Katara nodded. Her father sighed again and averted his eyes._

'_He wants his son to get married, but his son is very selective, none of the girls his father offered were good enough for him. We really need money now, the taxes run up high, and we can't pay them anymore. And Katara, you're a beautiful girl, all that son want is a beautiful girl to have children with. So Katara, I…'_

_Katara gasped and her heart missed a beat. She stepped backward and felt scared. She already had an idea of what he meant, but she refused to believe it. So she asked the question after all, while hundreds sorrows swam through her gaze._

'_Wha… What are you trying to say?' she asked, with a trembling voice. Her father took a deep breath: this had to be done._

'_I have to know if you're fertile or not, you'll marry this man once you're able to have children.' he said, his voice low and stern. Katara screeched and stepped backward again, so she bounced up against a wall._

'_You… You mean that I…'_

'_Yes, Katara, I'm giving your hand to Konu, that's what this son is called.'_

_Katara lost her temper immediately. _

'_You're not giving my hand, you're giving my body! You're giving my soul and my life! He only wants children, do you have any idea what he's going to do with me to have that?!'_

'_Of course I do!' her father yelled. 'And whether you like it or not, you WILL listen to him! So don't you dare to start weeping, and answer my question: are you or are you not fertile?'_

_Katara stuttered and her voice blocked. How could he do this to her? Her voice returned and she fell on the floor, crying. Her father lost his patience and pulled her up by her wrists._

'_Answer me!' he shouted. Katara cried even more and refused to look him in the eyes._

'_NO! No, I'm not! I'm not!' she cried. Her father released a deep sigh and let go of her. She fell back down on the floor and hid her face in her hands. _

_Her father did his very best to stay stern. He felt tears burning behind his eyes, but refused to cry. Katara had to know who she had to obey, and whether she liked it or not, in this world men were the boss. A woman had to obey, a man had to protect. And by giving her to a man, he could protect her for making the wrong choice herself. But it felt so wrong, so wrong to do this to her. He had to see this as a way of showing the love he felt for his daughter, that's what he told himself._

_He opened a closet and pulled a dress out of it. The dress was bright white and he tossed it at Katara._

'_I want you to wear this, so I can see it once you're fertile. I know you'd hide it for me, but with a dress like this that's impossible.'_

_Katara stared at the dress in her shaking hands and cried again. How could he do this to her?_

_-------------------------------------------_

Katara closed her eyes and released a trembling sigh. That night she refused to wear the dress, but her father didn't force her. He understood her fear, but he'd force her to wear it if she refused to again the next day. And then, like god was playing a sick game with her, she woke up, noticing the blood between her legs, on her bright white sheets.

That was a week ago. Now, her menstruation was over again, but she knew it would return next month. She didn't want to marry him, she'd do anything to escape that marriage! He only wanted her for children, for sex. And she wanted a husband that loved her as much as she loved him, not some kind of pervert that abused her for his own good.

She looked up at Zuko again and told him the first lie she could think of.

'All my blue pajamas are dirty. I fell in the mud with the one I wore this morning, one of the children pushed me by accident. I walked in the garden to enjoy the fresh air, and so were the children.' she lied. Zuko believed her and nodded.

'I see. What a shame, because… I don't want to sound rude by saying this, but blue really fits you well.' he said, while a blush colored his cheeks.

Katara smiled and stared at him. She never saw this side of him before, so kind and soft. Of course, he could be lying, but she doubted on that. He really seemed to mean what he said. And in a strange way, she liked the way this shy side of Zuko, it relaxed her.

'Thank you very much!' she said. Zuko smiled, and gasped when he saw Katara crawling a bit closer. Her gaze was locked with his for a while, and Zuko felt like just leaning forward and kissing her, but didn't do that after all.

Instead, he cleared his throat and stared over the ocean. Katara looked down, at the beach, and gasped.

Mister Kuaru and his son were walking on the beach, and they looked up in their direction. Katara pulled Zuko with her behind the dune, hoping they would just walk by, but unfortunately they came closer.

Zuko didn't understand what was going on, and the moment he wanted to ask some questions, a strong arm pulled Katara up. She screeched and pulled her arm lose, so she fell in the sand. A man with long, blond hair stared at her and a grimace appeared on his scant face.

'If it isn't our beautiful Katara…' he said. The older man behind him placed a hand on his shoulder and stared at Katara.

'Come on, Konu, we have to move on. You'll be meeting her more than enough in the future.' he said. Konu rolled his eyes and pulled Katara up by her waist. She could barely move, fear made all her muscles stiff. The man held her chin and pulled her face closer to his.

'Listen, dad, I'm not going to wait that long! I think I want to have a taste of this meat now already, so I know if the quality is good enough…'

The moment he wanted to stuck his tongue in her mouth, Zuko pushed him away roughly. The spoiled son rolled off the dune and Katara fell back in the sand, still frightened.

He pointed at Konu and seemed to be furious.

'Hey! What kind of pervert are you? Leave her alone, asshole!' he yelled. Konu crawled back up and wiped the sand off his clothes. He lifted his head and spit in Zuko's direction.

'Humpf! Come on, father, it's obvious that we're not welcome here!'

His father ran to his son, and he looked up at Katara one more time before they left.

'I know I'll have my chance, sooner or later.' he said with a low voice. Zuko couldn't stand this spoiled pig and shot a flame at them in anger. He missed, but that was enough to startle the old man and his son.

They ran off, and Zuko helped Katara up. He wiped the sand off her back and looked her in the eyes, his gaze worried.

'Are you alright? I really can't understand what kind of sick soul would do something THAT awful to…'

Katara gave him no chance to finish his sentence and threw her arms around his neck. She held him tight and pressed her body against his.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! I own you SO much!' she said happily. Zuko's voice seemed to be blocked for a while, but after a while he hugged her as well and his voice returned.

'It's okay, you're welcome.' he said.

Katara held him longer than necessary, but Zuko didn't care about that. They held each other tight and fell asleep in the sand a few hours later, still laying in each others arms.

Katara smiled and inhaled his scent. Zuko really was a man she could count on.

**(Konu reminded me of someone I know, someone I really really hate, so in this story he'll be known as an asshole! Wow, I wrote two super long chapters today, one for this story and one for "Dilemma of two dreams", I love holiday!:D Anyway, I'm having the feeling I'll update pretty soon, it's fun to write this story. Please REVIEW!:D)**


	5. Chapter 4, injustice

**WE CONTINUE! ATLAST! Sorry, I had a writer block. But it's over now, I'm as happy as I can be again!:D **

**Okay, so Zuko loves Katara, I think you all know that by now, and he spends the night with her. But after that, he finds out about the ridiculous rule his father made. So he goes to the village, so he can do something against this injustice.**

Chapter 4

Injustice

Zuko woke up and felt the sand under his body. But the sand didn't interest him, he focused on Katara, laying in his arms.

He held her tight and smiled. It was hard to believe he was actually holding the girl that looked so far away yesterday, the girl that used to be the stupid waterpeasant. His uncle was right, he just had to follow his heart, then he could do everything. Then no mountain would be too high to climb!

He held her tight and inhaled her scent. Next tot being beautiful, her sweet scent was what made her perfect. He never thought it was possible for someone to be perfect, but now he knew it for sure: it was. And the evidence was sleeping in his arms.

Katara moaned and opened her eyes. She gasped when she saw Zuko's chest, pressed against her.

'Zuko?' she asked. Zuko gasped and crawled up quickly.

'I'm sorry!' he said. Katara blushed and locked her arms round her knees. 'It's okay, really.'

They remained silence for a while, until Zuko coughed. 'I hope you feel alright… I mean, that guy of yesterday, it's terrible! I hate people like that, what on earth gave them the guts to do something like that?' he said, nearly shouting. Katara bit on her lip. It seemed like Zuko really cared about her.

She wished she could tell him. She wished she could tell him everything! About her menstruation, the future marriage, the "guy of yesterday"… But she couldn't. It was better this way, she could keep her menstruation as a secret, until Konu didn't even want her anymore. That day just HAD to come, he could never want her that bad!

Zuko bit on his lip when she didn't answer him.

'I understand.' he said. 'You don't want to talk or think about it, do you? I understand that feeling, more than you'd think.'

He looked up at the palace and sighed. 'I should be going. My father is…' He swallowed something down his throat. '…probably worried.' he said, finishing his sentence.

Katara crawled up, and gasped when she saw Zuko heading for the castle.

'Wait!' she yelled.

She held him by his hand and pulled him back. Their gazes were locked for a few moments, and Katara smiled.

'Thank you.' she said, once again. She hugged him and Zuko gasped. A blush colored his face the moment she pressed a kiss on his cheek.

After that, she ran off and left him behind. But he didn't care, she actually kissed him!

He made a joy jump and headed back for the castle, with a bright smile on his face.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara ran to her house, smiling. She ran through the many alleys, thinking about Zuko. She never saw him this way before, he seemed so kind and… sweet.

She opened the door of her small, but cozy house. When she entered, someone slammed the door.

She gasped and turned her head, looking straight in Sokka's eyes.

'Where were you?' he asked. Katara didn't answer him. They stared each other in the eyes for a while, until Katara crossed her arms and sat down on a chair.

'None of your business!' she snarled. Sokka frowned and pointed at a door, the door of their fathers room.

'Dad was very worried! He thought something terrible had happened to you!'

Katara averted her eyes and pressed her teeth together. 'The only thing he's worried about is the color of my dress…' she said. Sokka wanted to react again, but the only sound coming out of his throat was a short gasp. He sighed and closed his eyes.

What his father was doing to Katara was wrong, it was so wrong! He knew that good enough, but he wasn't allowed to be disobedient in front of his father. He had to agree with whatever his father proposed, so even this marriage - no - torment had to be okay with him. But it wasn't, he loved his sister too much to agree with this…

He stared at the door and bit on his lip. His father was still asleep.

He squattered down next to Katara and took her hand. He put something in the palm of it and pointed at it.

'Sew this on your dress, you know where. You can rip it off if you happen to have an accident with menstruation, so dad won't notice it on your real dress. You can throw this away afterwards, or even better: burn it.'

Katara stared at the piece of white cloth in her hand. Sokka was right, this could save her from that marriage. A smile colored her face and she gave Sokka a hug.

'Thanks, big brother! I owe you so much!'

Sokka shook his head and caressed her back. 'No you don't.' he said. 'I just don't want you to marry Konu, he's an asshole you know. I would never forgive myself if he'd do something to you!'

Katara bit on her lip. She COULD tell him about what Konu did last night, and about Zuko helping her, but maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all.

That moment, their father came in. He stared at Katara and gasped.

'Where on earth have you been, young lady?' he asked. Katara rubbed the back of her neck.

'I…' she stuttered. 'I fell asleep on the beach. Sorry, but I was so tired, those kids really know how to worn someone out…'

Her father believed her lie and nodded. 'You've worn me out as well. Now go and have a shower, you really smell.'

Katara nodded and went to the bathroom. Sokka looked after her, and turned his head to his father again. His father released a deep sigh and sat down.

'Strange girl she is.' he said. 'Every girl in town of her age has her menstruation already, but she's doesn't! pretty strange, if you'd ask me.'

Sokka frowned and crossed his arms.

'I don't think you should consider it as strange. You can't force nature to do whatever you want!' he said, nearly snarling. His father ignored his rudeness and released another sigh.

'Sokka…' he said. 'I know you're upset. I want her to do whatever she wants too. But in this world, we all have to know our place! And her place is at Konu's side, just as I told her.'

Sokka shook his head and slammed his fist on the table.

'No! You're wrong! She's free to do whatever she wants, you have no right to command her like that!' he yelled. His father rose up and glared at his son.

'Watch it, Sokka! I am your father, you should show some respect! Katara's my daughter so I HAVE to command her! She had to obey to the men in this world, that's the place she's been given!'

He pointed at the door and pressed his teeth together.

'Get out and think about that for a while. You may come back once you understand me.'

Sokka growled and kicked against the table in anger. He glared at his father , while he pulled the door open.

'Don't expect me to return! Because you know, I'll NEVER understand you!'

He ran out and turned his head back one last time.

'Farewell…'

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zuko came home and looked around. It seemed to be his lucky day, no guard around.

But when he walked inside, his uncle held his by his shoulder.

'Zuko, where were you?' he asked. Zuko sighed and pulled his shoulder out of Iroh's grip. He turned his head and smiled.

'I was with Katara.' he said quietly. Iroh smiled brightly and rubbed in his hands.

'That's great news! How did things go?'

'Well,' Zuko said, 'we just talked. And after I helped her, she even hugged me!'

Iroh smiled. 'I'm glad to hear that. What did you help her with, then?'

Zuko glared at the door, like Konu stood there.

'Some kind of pervert tried to kiss her, he thought it was alright to treat a girl like that.'

Iroh bit on his lip. He guided Zuko to his room, while he talked to him.

'Zuko, don't you know, then? The rule your father made a few years ago?'

Zuko lifted an eyebrow. 'Rule?'

'Yes,' Iroh said, 'rule. Since your mother left, he turned into a complete woman hater. He always said they weren't worth anything, that they were only used as slave and someone to give birth to your children.'

Zuko gasped and his mouth fell open in surprise.

'What? Ozai really said that? But what does that have to do with Katara?'

Iroh looked through the window in Zuko's room and sighed.

'I don't like this rule either, Zuko. If there's something I respect, it's the opposite sex. But I'm afraid many other men agree with Ozai, that's probably the reason why that guy tried to kiss Katara, he thought it was alright to do something like that.'

Zuko's eyes grew bigger. He frowned and grabbed a knapsack, laying on his bed. He started to fill it with some of his stuff and Iroh lifted an eyebrow.

'Zuko?' he asked. 'What are you doing?'

Zuko threw the knapsack over his shoulder and he stared out of the window.

'I'm going to the village. If that's the way they treat woman out there, I feel like I just HAVE to do something against it.'

Iroh gasped when he saw Zuko leaving the room and he ran after him. He held his by his shoulder and pointed at an other door, the door of Ozai's room.

'Zuko! Do not fight against your fathers will! This is the way he made the world out there, this is the way he wants it to be! You can't change that!'

'Yes I can!' Zuko yelled. 'You think I'll leave things this way once I'll become firelord myself? Well I'm sorry, but I can't wait that long!'

He ran away as fast as he could, avoiding every guard he found on his path. Iroh sighed and smiled. His nephew knew what he wanted, and in this case he wanted what's best for the people out there.

'He'll sure be a great ruler.' he said to himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara was done with washing herself, and she wanted to leave the bathroom. But the moment she put her hand on the door knob, she heard voices coming form the other side of the door.

'You want to see Katara? Well, she's busy for the moment, so perhaps you can come back after…' she heard her father saying.

'No!' an other voice said. 'I came to see Katara, so I won't leave until I've done that!'

Katara gasped. There was no doubt about it, that voice was from Konu. Her father knocked on the door.

'Katara, dear? Are you ready? Mister Konu wants to see you.' he said, sounding a bit worried.

Katara gasped again. She didn't want to see Konu again, Sokka was right: he was an asshole.

She turned her head and stared at the window. That was the only way out.

So she opened it and climbed through it, escaping from Konu.

The moment she fell on the ground outside, she heard the voice of Konu again.

'This is taking way too long, step aside!' he yelled. He opened the door and looked inside. When he noticed Katara being gone, he growled and glared at her father.

'Where is she? Bring her here!'

Katara crawled back up and ran away, to the village. She would do anything to escape that pervert.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara arrived at the center of the village and looked around. When she saw Konu wasn't there, she released a sigh in relief.

'I'm safe…' she said.

She leaned against one of the many booths around her, and suddenly a strong arm pulled her up. She gasped and looked straight in the eyes of a big man.

'What were you trying to do?' he asked. Katara wanted to answer him, but the man gave her no chance.

'You tried to steal from me, huh? I knew it! You filthy woman, I'll teach you a lesson about stealing!'

He grabbed his knife and Katara gasped. She screeched the moment he wanted to cut her hand off, but luckily someone kicked the knife away. The knife clattered somewhere on the ground and the man stared at it. The guy that kicked the knife away crossed his arms and pointed at Katara's neck.

'I'm afraid the only thief around here is you, filthy man…'

And he was right. The man his fingers were locked around Katara necklace, which was still around her neck, ready to pull it off. Katara gasped and frowned. She bit in the hand of the man and pulled herself out of his grip.

The guy that saved her grabbed the man by his arm and glared at him. Katara smiled brightly when she saw who her rescuer was, Zuko.

'So, filthy man!' Zuko yelled, taking everyone's attention. 'Shall I cut your hand off instead? I mean, those are the rules!'

The man gasped and tried to release himself from Zuko's grip.

'No! No, please, forgive me! I didn't mean to steal from that girl, I'll never do it again!'

Zuko rolled his eyes and looked around. With a grimace on his face he pulled the man up.

'What do you think, people? Shall we spare this thief?' he asked. The people, gathering around them, all shouted something else. Zuko glared at the man and hit him in the face. The man fell down on the ground and moaned in pain, while he pulled a tooth out of his mouth. He stared at the tooth, knocked out by Zuko. Zuko crossed his arms and kicked the tooth out of his hand.

'That's to remind you of what you tried to do today! It's better than cutting a hand off, if you'd ask me.'

He turned his head to all the people and pointed at the thief.

'Remember! The man missing a tooth tried to steal from an innocent girl!'

The people shouted at the man, while Zuko pulled Katara along, sneaking out of the mob. He turned his head back to that mob and smiled.

'They'll give him the rest of his punishment.' he said. Katara smiled and gave Zuko a hug.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved me again!' she cheered. Zuko smiled as well and held her tight.

'I couldn't just stand there, watching how he'd cut your hand off, right?'

Katara looked up and gasped. Her father and Konu were trying to walk through the mob, probably looking for her.

She pulled Zuko with her and pointed at the beach.

'Come, come! We can't stay here!' she panicked. Zuko wanted to ask her a question, but Katara gave him no chance. They ran off, leaving Konu and the mob behind them.

**(God, this can get me SO angry! But that's the way they treated woman, only several years ago here in Belgium. And with "several" I mean only 40 or 50! This might seem long to some of you, but if you think about it for a while, it's nearly inhuman! That's the actual reason for why I write this story, most of the things happening in this story used to be normal. **

**Anyway, I think this chapter wasn't too bad… I know, it took me a LONG time to write this, but I like the result. Everyone reading this, please REVIEW:D!)**


	6. Chapter 5, romance

**Shiver The christmasexams are coming here in Belgium, god that'll be terrible… Yes, here in Belgium, everyone has two times a period of exams in a year. The first one starts 6 December, so I'm afraid I probably won't update the following 10 days. Maybe once or twice, depending on which exam we'll have the next day. If I fail for Latin, then my choice has been made: I'll quit. But if I DON'T fail, I'll see what happens in June…**

**Okay, let's continue this story! So, if I have this right, Zuko and Katara have just escaped from Konu and Katara's father. (Oh, and someone told me Katara's father's name is Hokado, but now it turns out to be Hakoda...)**

**I feel a bit like some healthy Zutara-fluffiness-writing now, so that's what I'll do! Oh, and I'll figure something out for Sokka… His role will be pretty important here. I'm sorry, Aangfans, I'll add him sooner or later, but it just doesn't fit well for the moment.**

**Enjoy some sweet, relaxing Zutara romance!**

Chapter 5

Romance

Katara pulled Zuko with her, back to the beach. She jumped behind the dune where she met Zuko that night, forcing him to do the same.

She peeked over the dune and released a sigh of relief. They've lost Konu and her father.

Zuko crawled back up and wiped the sand off his shirt. 'What's wrong?' he asked. Katara sat back against the dune and bit on her lip, while staring at the white cloth of her dress.

'I like this dune better.' she said, lying just a bit. She really liked that dune, but that wasn't the real reason why she wanted to hide here of course.

Zuko sat down next to her and sighed.

'It's horrible.' he said. Katara lifted an eyebrow and looked up at him. 'Horrible?' she repeated.

'Yes!' Zuko said. 'Horrible! The way they treat women over there, uncle wasn't lying about it!'

Katara averted her eyes. 'Oh, that…'

'God, I swear that once I'm firelord, I'll do something against this. Men are nothing better than women.'

'But Zuko,' Katara said, 'you're a man yourselves!'

'I know.' Zuko said. 'But this is wrong. If I wouldn't have been there, that man would have chopped your hand of AND stolen your necklace!'

Katara shivered. Zuko was right, that man would have done that if he wouldn't have arrived there in time. Her mothers necklace was something she'd never want to lose, and of course she preferred to keep her hand also.

She held Zuko tight and closed her eyes.

'Thank you again, I can barely imagine what would have happened if you wouldn't have been there…' Actually, she HAD an idea of what would have happened, but she didn't want to think about that.

Zuko smiled and enjoyed the feeling of her body pressed against his. He threw an arm around her waist and pulled her closer a bit, so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

They both remained silence for a while, sunken away in thoughts.

Katara smiled. His arm around her waist felt pleasantly warm. He didn't pull her too close, but yet the weight of his arm felt comfortable. She felt like she could fall asleep right away, his strong shoulder felt like a soft pillow to her.

Zuko leaned on her head with his, and held her a bit tighter. Luckily she was alright, it was close, but she was alright. That was all that mattered. Since he knew her, it felt like she lifted all his sorrows. He didn't think too much about his father's illness anymore, in fact, the only think he really thought about was her. Especially now he saw how other people treated her, he felt like he had to be with her every minute of the day, so he could protect her against anything.

She squeezed in his other shoulder a bit.

'Zuko?' she asked.

'Yeah?'

She held him tight and bit on her lip. 'Please stay here with me a while, I don't want to be alone and I don't want to go home either…'

Zuko thought about the guy that tried to kiss her yesterday and bit on his lip. He understood her, of course she felt scared now she knew that that pervert lived somewhere in the village.

'Of course I will.' he said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sokka felt his stomach rumbling and he moaned. He looked around him, seemed like the alley he walked in was left. He wished he waited till after breakfast to leave the house.

He crossed his arms and shook his head. No, food wasn't important now: his sister was in trouble and his father had to pay for his deeds. He knew he was the one paying for it most of all, but he also knew he could hurt his father a lot by leaving him. It was better this way, nobody had the right to treat his little sister this way. And especially not that Konu guy…

He looked up and a smile colored his face. It seemed like he was close by the palace, there was plenty of food over there.

He rubbed in his hands and walked to the palace ready to eat all he could.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara woke up and gasped. She didn't knew she fell asleep a while ago.

When she felt Zuko's arms locked around her, she released a sigh in relief. He was still here with her. He held her tight and Katara enjoyed the pleasant warmth of his body, and the feeling of his breath in her neck. She laid half on top of him, as if she was Zuko's teddy bear.

Zuko's eyes were closed. He pretended to be asleep, but he knew very well what was going on. Once he noticed her sleeping, he had pulled her closer. She automatically threw her arm over his chest and Zuko had to hold her with both of his arms, making sure she wouldn't fall off him. They laid there like that for half an hour, and still he enjoyed the feeling of her body against his. His side was pressed between her breasts, it made something inside of him tingle.

She yawned and a smile appeared on her face.

'I can't believe you've actually stayed.' she said. Zuko smiled as well and looked down, so they were facing each other.

'I always keep my promise.' he said. They remained silence for a while. Katara slid up a bit, so Zuko could feel her body sliding over his. One of her legs lay between his, and Zuko's head lowered a bit. They stared each other in the eyes. Katara felt his warm breath tickling on her lips, making it feel like there was no gap between them.

Zuko couldn't control himself anymore, the tingles took his body over. He closed the gap by pulling her up, so their lips could lock. He kissed her softly and they both closed their eyes, enjoying the sweet taste of each others lips.

He pulled his head back and smiled upon her. When Katara finally opened her eyes, she closed the gap again. Tugging at his shirt, she deepened the kiss and moaned softly. Zuko's hands slid over her back, the tingles inside of him desired for more.

Katara released a satisfied sigh, and Zuko took advantage of this. He slid his tongue in her opened mouth and groaned happily. Katara moaned several times, and answered his kiss fiercely.

Once they ran out of breath, they broke off and breathed heavily. Katara looked up in his eyes, looking a bit confused. But she didn't care about that, the point was that he had actually kissed her.

Zuko wanted to do it again, but he noticed the light burning in the palace, in the room of his father. That meant the doctors were with him.

He gasped and wanted to crawl up, but he felt Katara still laying half on top of him. She threw her leg between his over him, so she was really laying on top of him.

'Don't go, please, stay here with me…' she said quietly. Zuko knew he was supposed to be in the castle, being worried about his father, but the beautiful Katara on top of him seemed much nicer.

He put a hand behind her head and pulled her closer. He kissed her again and opened his mouth when he felt her tongue running over his lips, demanding entrance. He groaned loudly when her tongue stroke over his, and as the hours passed by, the light in the castle faded…

**(I made this one a bit shorter, but I've put more than enough healthy Zutara romance in it! It writes so smoothly, it surely belongs in my top 3 of favorite things to write! Seems like I made a cliffhanger out of this, kinda... I hope you liked it, please REVIEW!:D)**

**(Oh! Oh! P.S.: The Zutarians are getting close to victory! I've put the links to the screen captures of the trailer and the trailer itself on my profile, check it out if you want to know more!)**


	7. Chapter 6, consequences

**Okay, where was I… Oh yeah, Sokka was heading for the castle and Zuko and Katara were making out on the beach, how could I forget?**

**Now… Zuko and Katara are in love with each other, but don't forget about those tiny details: Zuko's father is still ill, and Katara still has to marry Konu.**

**And now Katara's a woman, she has to face the consequences of that.**

Chapter 6

Consequences

Zuko and Katara were still laying by that dune, half asleep. It was late and the sun was setting, making it seem like the sky was on fire. Zuko held Katara tight and smiled lightly, he had never kissed a girl like that before.

Katara looked up at Zuko and smiled.

'I love you…' she whispered. She kissed him again, but Zuko saw a guard walking on the beach. It wasn't hard to recognize that guard: his red armor made clear that he belonged to the palace. Zuko gasped and pushed Katara away.

'Listen, can we go somewhere else to do this?' he asked, worried about the guard. Katara simply nodded and crawled up, wiping the sand off the withe cloth she wore.

She sighed and averted her eyes. Her father was probably worried about her, he was worried so easily. She felt like a bitch by making him feel this way, just because she was with Zuko. It was time for her to head back for home.

But if she would go home on her own, Konu could find her. Who knew what he could do to her? She was only a girl, a girl with no rights in this world. No one would even care if he would…

A shiver ran over her back. No, she wouldn't let him do that. She would never give him that pleasure. Neither the pleasure of how it would satisfy him and neither the pleasure he would feel when he could mark her that way.

'Zuko?' she asked. 'Can you walk me home, please? I'm kinda scared…'

Zuko swallowed when he saw the guard staring over the beach, probably looking for him.

'I'll do whatever you want, let's go!' he said, trying to speed this up a bit.

They left the beach and walked into town, heading for Katara's house.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sokka was trying to crawl over the wall of the castle, but the spikes on top of it made that pretty hard for him. He did his very best to avoid the sharp points of them, but unfortunately he had scratched himself several times by then.

The rumbling of his stomach made him moan, he was so hungry. With one last struggle he made it to the other side, but there he fell down again, on the grass of the huge garden the palace had.

He rubbed over his back and moaned in pain. When he looked up, his mouth fell open in surprise. That palace really was huge.

He smiled and rubbed in his hands, such a big palace probably had tons of food.

So he ran to the palace doors, sneaking in. He followed his nose, on his way to food.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara pointed at one of the many houses in the alley and smiled.

'There it is!' she said. She pulled Zuko with her to the door and looked up at him.

'Thank you for everything.' she said. Zuko shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Aw, well, you're welcome. I…' He had no chance to finish his sentence. Katara pressed her lips on his and threw her arms around his neck. Zuko held her by her waist and held his other hand behind her head, deepening the kiss.

Suddenly, the door opened. Katara gasped and pushed Zuko away, so he fell somewhere in the bushes close by the door. Her father stared at her and frowned.

'Young lady! Where have you been? Do you have ANY idea how worried I was?'

Katara bit on her lip and stepped back, hanging her head down. 'I'm sorry, father, I just…'

'You just what?' he said, interrupting her. 'You just had to stay at home today! Konu came all the way to this side of the town, just to see you, and then you suddenly disappear! You should show him some respect and you know why!'

Katara averted her eyes. Of course she knew why, how could she ever forget? She had to marry that asshole, she had to show him respect. But since he didn't want to show HER some respect, she refused to listen to him. She refused to do whatever he wanted her to do. Why couldn't she just marry Zuko or…

Wait, Zuko!

She saw Zuko, trying to crawl out of the bushes. She pushed him back down, while her father lifted an eyebrow.

'What are you doing with those roses?' he asked. Katara stuttered a bit, but before she could answer, her father rolled his eyes and sighed.

'Whatever. Come inside, it's getting way too cold out here for you.'

She nodded and her father went back inside. She helped Zuko up again and wiped the dirt off his clothes.

'I'm so sorry, but if my father would have seen us that way he would have killed me!'

Zuko felt a bit confused by all what had happened, but before he could ask something, Katara kissed him. She held him tight and walked to the door.

'I have to go now. Thank you again.'

Zuko smiled. He saw her walking inside and released a sigh in relief.

She was perfect.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zuko was back at the palace, with a bright smile on his face. He walked through the huge gates and saw his uncle, standing in front of him. He glared at his nephew and crossed his arms, probably pissed off.

'Where have you been!' he said, starting his terrible sermon. 'I've been waiting for you for hours! You know Ozai doesn't want you to leave the palace so sudden!'

Zuko rolled his eyes and rose his hands, as if being arrested. 'Relax! I'm here right now, see?'

'No, Zuko, I won't relax!' Iroh said. 'Your father is ill! Do you have any idea how close he was by his trip to the spirit world this afternoon? Well? Do you?'

Zuko gasped.

'You mean… He was facing death?'

Iroh nodded and poked against Zuko's chest. 'You bet he was! And if the doctors wouldn't have been there in time, you know he would have died!'

Zuko didn't want to hear more of his sermon. The only thing he wanted was to see his father, to know whether he was alright or not.

He pushed Iroh aside and ran on the stairs. Once he made it to Ozai's room, he opened the door and ran inside, startling the firelord.

'Father!' he nearly yelled. 'Are you alright? I…'

'Silence!'

Zuko shut his mouth and bit on his lip. He bowed for his father, making Ozai roll his eyes.

'Don't think you can heal me with good manners. Nothing can and you know that.'

Zuko looked up at his father, with a sad look on his face. 'You will heal, father. I swear that I…'

'Zuko.' Ozai said, with a blank look on his face. 'Don't make me a promise now, not now. You may not break your promise, ever! A decent firelord keeps his promises, and I'm afraid you can't promise me anything now. I can't even promise you that I'll make it to the end of the month.'

Zuko averted his eyes. His father released a deep, heavy sigh and slid down a bit.

'I'm dying, Zuko.'

Zuko gasped and looked up at Ozai. He stood up and came a few steps closer.

'That's not true, father! Tell me you're lying!'

Ozai shook his head. 'I'm not allowed to lie. I'm the firelord, a falling firelord that is.'

He made Zuko clear that he had to come closer. So he did, and he squattered down next to his father. Ozai held one of his hands and looked in his eyes, with such an intruding gaze that it seemed like he looked right through him.

'A firelord has to be a good leader, he has to do what he thinks that's right. Never tell a lie, never make a promise you can not keep and NEVER betray the ones you love! That includes the people of your nation. Always remember this, Zuko, you'll thank me for this advice sooner or later.'

Zuko nodded and sighed. He stood up again and bowed for his father, leaving the room.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara sat on a chair in the kitchen, staring at the ceiling. A shiver of joy ran over her back when she thought about Zuko. He was so perfect to her: he protected her, he was very kind and handsome, he probably was the best kisser in the world and, most of all, he loved her too. Konu didn't love her, he just wanted her for his own good. Like that perverted asshole could EVER mean as much to her as Zuko.

Her father came in and sighed when he saw her sitting on the chair.

'You should apologize to Konu, he really wanted to see you, you know.'

'I will.' Katara said shortly. She would apologize, but nothing more than that. A simple "sorry" seemed more than enough to her. Her father smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder.

'Good! You can do that right away!'

Katara gasped. When the door opened, she felt her stomach tensing in fear. Konu walked in and his gaze was locked on Katara, while a grimace appeared on his face. He turned his head to her father, but she knew he was still staring at her.

'So she came back after all…' he said, nearly whispering it. Her father nodded and turned his head to Katara. He frowned at her and crossed his arms.

'Young lady, show mister Konu some respect! Come closer, you can't apologize yourselves to him when you're standing over there.'

Katara came a few steps closer, staying at her fathers side. She refused to make eye contact with him, she just stared at the floor in front of her.

'Sorry.' she mumbled. Her father frowned again, but Konu simply smiled.

'Oh, but a beautiful girl like Katara doesn't have to apologize herself to me. I'm just glad that she's alright.' he said. Katara glared at him, she could smell his lie. Konu frowned, and looked up at her father again.

'So? When can the marriage take place? I can barely wait.' He stared at Katara with the last part of his sentence. She could guess what he was thinking about, it made her feel disgusted and angry at the same time.

'It won't!' she snarled. Konu gasped by her sudden reaction, and her father glared at her.

'Katara!' he yelled. 'You have no right to react that way!' Katara didn't care about that. She knew what he was thinking and she didn't want it to happen. She didn't want to share her first time with someone like him. Her father became angry and he pulled her up by her collar a bit.

'Apologize!' he commanded. Katara said nothing, she kept her mouth shut. That was it: her father had no other choice.

He hit her in the face, so she was smacked on the floor. She laid there on the cold floor, nearly gasping for air. She felt her cheek burning red and she even tasted some blood in her mouth. It felt like the shape of his fist was burned in her face, and no matter how hard she tried not to, she couldn't help to cry.

Gasping for air and sobbing she laid there, with two men looking down on her.

'Get up.' her father said. She looked up at him and felt her whole body tremble. Her father seemed so harsh now, so cold. Too afraid to disagree with anything he said, she crawled up, shaking on her legs.

Konu seemed to have no problems with this. He just stared at her, like this was the most normal thing on earth.

Katara felt an other tear rolling over her cheek, it was for sure now: she was a woman.

**Hmm, this was fun to write! I feel like I'm missing a few reviews on this story, so if you're reading this, please REVIEW!:D**


	8. Chapter 7, fear

**WOOHOO I can send in chapters again! It's fixed!!!:D This chapter only took me a few hours to write, but almost FOUR DAYS to send it in! The site blocked... But it's fixed now! LET'S CONTINUE WITH THE STORY!**

**I feel like I hate Konu today… Okay, I know it for sure: I hate Konu! **

**Okay, so Konu is in Katara's house, that can only mean bad things. Everyone sensitive about the abuse done to woman in the world, please skip the last paragraph.**

**But first: Zuko finds out about his new roommate, named Sokka…**

Chapter 7

Fear

Zuko walked through the palace, just to have some time to think. He felt horrible: while his father was nearly dead here in the palace, he was having a great time on the beach, making out with a girl that didn't even belong to the royal family. His father would kill him if he would find out about Katara. That was why it seemed a better idea to keep this entire affair with the watertribegirl as a secret, the less people knowing about it the better.

He released a deep, heavy sigh and opened the door of his room, he had enough of the endless walking through the huge palace. He walked inside and closed the door behind him.

When he fell down on the bed, he heard someone saying "ouch". He gasped and jumped back up, inspecting the bed. He pulled the sheets off the bed and saw someone sleeping in HIS bed, squattered and annoyed by the sudden flash of light.

'Gimme five more minutes, mom…' he mumbled. Zuko frowned and pulled the guy up by his collar, waking him up.

It was Sokka.

Zuko shouted when he saw Sokka's face, so Sokka couldn't help to shout as well.

'Wooaah!'

'Eeeek!'

'Wooaah!'

'EEEEK!'

Zuko blocked his voice by slamming his hand on his mouth, before he could say "eeeek" again. He tried to calm the strange boy down and shushed him.

'Shhhh! For heaven sake, shut up!' he said. Sokka calmed down a bit, while Zuko checked the door of his room. Nobody.

He turned his head back to Sokka and lifted an eyebrow. 'Who the heck are you?' he asked. Sokka wiped the invisible dirt off his clothes and frowned.

'I could ask you the same thing!' he snarled. Zuko growled in anger and pointed at his bed.

'YOU were sleeping in MY bed! I have the right to know your name!'

'Who cares?' Sokka said. 'I was tired, and this bed seemed very comfortable.'

Zuko sighed and let go of him. He sat down on the bed and looked up at Sokka.

'How did you get in? Are you one of the guards?'

Sokka laughed loudly. 'Me? A guard? Yeah right! I don't even live here!'

Zuko gasped. 'You mean… You're a burglar?!'

'No!' Sokka said quickly. 'No! I'm not a burglar, I wasn't planning on stealing anything! I swear!' When he lifted his arms up, to proof that he wasn't hiding anything, something rolled out of his sleeve. It was an apple.

Zuko took the apple and lifted an eyebrow.

'And what's this?'

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck and a fake smile appeared on his face.

'Hehe, how on earth did that thing get there?'

Zuko wanted to react again, but suddenly the door opened. He pushed Sokka under the bed quickly and pulled the sheets back to normal, while Iroh came in.

'Ah, Zuko, there you are.' he said. Zuko gave Iroh a bright smile and sat on the bed, on top of Sokka underneath him.

'Ah, uncle! How nice to see you again!' he said, suspiciously kind. Iroh coughed and crossed his arms, while he winked at Zuko.

'How were things today? I bet you went to see that girl again!'

Sokka couldn't help to laugh, while Zuko hit his bed, so he hit Sokka as well. Iroh lifted an eyebrow, while Zuko glared at the place under which Sokka sat.

'Could be.' he simply said.

Iroh smiled brightly and clapped in his hands. 'That's a yes!'

That moment, Sokka tried to push Zuko off him, but Zuko hit him again. Iroh swallowed something through his throat, while he stepped back slowly.

'I think you'd prefer to be alone, since you're hitting your own bed… I'll be gone then.'

When Iroh finally left, Zuko jumped up and pulled Sokka to him.

'You dumbass! You nearly got yourselves caught! If Iroh would have seen you, he would have called the guards, and the guards would have killed you!'

A grimace appeared on Sokka's face. 'Who's the girl he was talking about?' he asked, laughing a bit afterwards. Zuko growled and smacked him back on the bed.

'Tell me your name, now!' he commanded. Sokka rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, while his lips were sealed. Zuko glared at him.

'Tell me or I'll tell the guard about the intruder in the palace…'

Sokka gasped and jumped up immediately. 'Sokka!' he said. Zuko gasped, he recognized that name from somewhere. That Sokka seemed familiar to him, like they've met before.

Sokka swallowed. He knew that was ZUKO standing in front of him, only a year older. Luckily he didn't recognize him, but Sokka had recognized him right away. His scar wasn't something to forget so easily.

Unfortunately, Zuko suddenly remembered him.

'It's you!' he said, pointing at him. 'You're the idiot that was traveling with the Avatar!'

'And you're the idiot that was trying to capture that Avatar!' Sokka said. Zuko tried to find more memories in his mind, and gasped.

'That makes you Katara's sister!' he said, nearly shouting in surprise. Sokka simply nodded, but frowned after that.

'How do you know her name?'

Zuko bit on his lip. He released a heavy sigh and sat down on the bed.

'That doesn't matter. Can you please go home now? I won't tell the guards you were here, you should thank me for that.'

Sokka gasped and shook his head. 'NO! I can't go back, not now! I have to stay away, I can only go back once he'll listen to me!'

Zuko didn't understand what he was talking about, but on the other side, he didn't care. He knew it was late and he felt exhausted, so he crawled in his bed.

'Whatever, then just hide somewhere, but please: be quiet…'

Sokka smiled brightly and made a joy jump. 'I sure will! Thanks, buddy!'

Zuko turned his head to him and glared. 'And do NOT call me "buddy", my name's Zuko!' he snarled.

Sokka nodded and crawled next to him, but Zuko hit him, making him fall out of the bed.

'And do NOT sleep next to me.' he threated. Sokka sighed and stroke his hand over the carpet. It felt pretty soft, maybe even softer than the bed he had at home. He could live with this for a while.

They both fell asleep after that, Zuko in the bed, Sokka on the carpet. The only things they had in comment for the moment, were the sorrows in their minds.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara was locked in her room, sitting in a corner. She sat there squattered, with her arms locked around her legs, staring at nothing. She still couldn't believe it: her father had actually hit her. Of course, he had hit her before, but never as hard as he did now. Never with a fist in her face. She thought he didn't want women to be treated that way, but it seemed like she was wrong: he agreed with every other man in the village. He would just let her walk to that altar, knowing she would never be able to feel true love.

Konu could never give her that. He would use her for his own good, she knew what he would do to her. He would be there to have sex with her, any time he wanted to. And no matter how many stories she heard about sex being so great and nice, with Konu it could only be a torment.

No, she didn't want to share her first time with him. She didn't want to share second or third time with him either, she just didn't want to give him that pleasure! But if things would keep going the way they went now, she knew she would have no other choice.

However… If she refused to have sex with him, what could he do? He couldn't do it when she refused to, he couldn't just force her. What was the worst thing he could do, then?

Suddenly, the door opened and her father came in. He stared at his daughter and released a sigh.

'Have you learned your lesson now?' he asked. Katara nodded, too afraid to speak. Her father saw how scared she was and a sad look appeared on his face, he had done this to his own daughter, the only woman left in his life.

Konu came in as well and Katara gasped. She tried to crawl as deep in the corner as she could, just to make sure he wouldn't touch her. Konu had a grimace on his face and turned his head to the father.

'Can you please leave us alone for a while? I have to talk to her in private.'

Hakoda nodded and left the room, looking back on his daughter one last time. Konu closed the door and stared at Katara, hidden in the corner. He inspected her room, while he walked around to see everything better.

'You weren't so nice the past few days, you know?' he said. Katara didn't answer, she just stared at the wall in front of her. Konu's gaze turned to her, inspecting her body. Katara felt his gaze running over her face and neck, and resting on her breasts, it felt terribly unpleasant. She stood up and tried to hide the fear she felt.

'I really have to go.' she said. When she headed for the door, he grabbed her by her arm and pulled her closer.

'Why in such a hurry? I'm having a great time here with you…' he said, while his eyes stared in hers. He looked so mean and scary, that it made Katara tremble in fear. She jerked his hand away and opened the door.

He slammed the door in front of her and she gasped. Konu held her by both of her wrists, while the grimace on his face grew bigger.

'Strange, isn't it? We both know about this marriage for two weeks by now, and still we have never had the chance to get to know each other better…'

He smacked her against the wall and pulled her arms up, so he could pin her hands against the wall next to her head. Katara tried to wrestle herself out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go of her.

'I think this is a great moment for that, don't you think so?'

Katara's mouth fell open in fear, when she saw his face coming closer to hers. He slid his tongue in her opened mouth and groaned loudly, while Katara couldn't help to screech. She felt his tongue twirling in her mouth, tasting everything inside. As he stroke his tongue with hers more fiercely, one of his hands grabbed her breast. Katara wanted to get him off her, but he was much stronger than she was.

His hand squeezed in her breast hardly, it even hurt her. His kisses fell lower, to her neck, giving Katara the change to scream aloud.

The door was opened and slammed against the wall, while her father stood there. He glared at Konu and pulled him off his daughter. He held him by his collar and pulled him up.

'Keep your filthy hands off my daughter, you asshole!' he shouted. Suddenly, Mister Kuaru came in. He crossed his arms and stared at Hakoda.

'Is there something wrong, mister Hakoda?' Hakoda bit on his lip, while he glared at Konu. He was so angry at that boy that he could kill him, but this marriage still was important to them. And besides, he could never break the promise he made to Kuaru.

'Nothing, sir…' he said, releasing Konu. Konu ran to his father, while he stared at Katara. Katara was breathing heavily, maybe because he hadn't gave her the chance to breath while he kissed her, maybe because she was so afraid, she didn't knew.

Kuaru nodded and turned his head to her father.

'Don't forget about tomorrow, we'll be coming for dinner then, remember?'

Hakoda nodded. Kuaru and Konu left, heading for their own house.

That moment, Katara crushed. She fell on her knees, her face hidden in her hands, doing her very best to keep the tears sealed. But she couldn't help it, she was so scared. Everything on her body felt so dirty, so abused, like she didn't want to have it anymore. Tears kept streaming down her face, while she sank deeper and deeper, trying to forget it.

Though she knew it was impossible to forget.

Her father came closer to her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

'Katara, I'm sorry, I didn't knew he would…'

Katara gave him no chance to finish his sentence. She jumped up and ran away, as far as she could, not knowing where she was going. That didn't matter, any place was better than her room, any place…

**Hmmm, the part with Konu and Katara was easy to write. The part with Zuko and Sokka was harder, sometimes a bit ridiculous, but hey: I can't make every scene a drama, right? Anyway, I already have the next chapter for this, but I don't know when I could/should send it in. The more reviews I get, the sooner the update will be there!- It can't possibly take more than two days, I'm too curious for your opinion to wait that long...XD (P.S.:Believe me, the next chapter is worth it! LOT'S of Zutarapassion in there! I do have to warn you for the adult content in it, pretty much actually...) REVIEW!:D**


	9. Chapter 8, passion

**Uhm, let's see… What shall I write… Aw, since I ran out of inspiration for "Dilemma Of two Dreams", I'll write some more on this story! I really want to today!-**

**I always warn in the start of the chapter if there'll be adult content, so I shall warn you now. This is a VERY passionated chapter, with adult content, so some of you probably want to skip this chapter. So please, if you can't stand passion, skip this chapter instead of flaming at me. Read on with the next chapter, unless if there's passion in that chapter as well.**

**Besides, your flames would have no real meaning to me. Passion and sex and stuff like that are a part of life, that's how I think about it. So I feel no shame by writing this chapter. I'm sure that I'm not the only one thinking about it this way, because whether you like it or not: passion is or will be a part of your life.**

…**Actually it's stupid to read this story when you're a passion hater. But anyway, this was a warning for the passion hater who DOES want to read the story! (P.S.: It's in the third paragraph if you want to skip it)**

Chapter 8

Passions

Zuko was still asleep in his bed, while Sokka laid next to him. Sokka suddenly snored, making Zuko shout in surprise.

He turned his head to Sokka and glared at him

'Out of my bed, now!' he snarled. Sokka moaned and rolled out of the bed, back on the carpet.

Zuko crawled out of his bed and sighed. He wondered how his father was doing for the moment, he seemed pretty ill last night. When he imagined a life without his father, a shiver crawled over his back. He didn't want to be all alone on this world, no matter how distanced he seemed, he knew he needed someone else in his life. And once his father would be gone, who on earth would be left then?

He walked to the window and looked down on the beach, releasing a short gasp. Katara was sleeping at the dune.

He wanted to leave his room right away, but noticed Sokka laying on the carpet first. He bit on his lip, there had to be a way to keep that guy busy for a few hours. Suddenly, he had an idea.

'Sokka?' he said. 'You're probably hungry, aren't you?'

Sokka nodded and felt his stomach rumbling. Zuko smiled and pointed at his covert.

'There's lots of food in there, have a look if you want to.'

Sokka opened his covert and peeked inside. He frowned and turned his head to Zuko. 'There's nothing in here!'

Zuko pushed Sokka in the covert and locked it immediately. He put the key in his pocket and a grimace appeared on his face.

'Sorry, man, but I can't leave you all alone in my room. You'll be safe in my covert, just don't make any noise.'

Sokka shouted and hit the covert, trying to free himself, but the wooden covert was way too solid. Zuko left the room and ran to the beach, leaving Sokka behind him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zuko made it to the beach and saw Katara, still asleep. She seemed extremely tired and there were trails of dried tears on her cheeks. He squattered down next to her and threw an arm over her shoulders.

'Katara? Katara, are you alright?'

Katara opened her eyes and saw Zuko. She gasped and threw her arms around his neck. While she held him tight, she tried to keep her tears sealed.

'Zuko! I'm so happy to see you!' she said happily. Zuko pushed her back and his hand caressed her cheek, wiping the remainder tears away.

'What happened? You look exhausted!'

Katara bit on her lip. How on earth could she tell him this? And how on earth could she keep it as a secret? She couldn't take it anymore. Crushed as she was, she held him tight again and buried her face in his neck.

'It was horrible! I tried to defend myself, but I couldn't! It hurt and it tasted horrible and I feel so dirty and…'

That was all she could say. Tears streamed down her face while her sobbing made her body shock up and down against Zuko. His hand caressed her back kindly and he tried to comfort her, though he didn't knew what she was talking about.

'Shhh, don't worry, I'm here, I'm with you… You'll be fine, it's over…' he whispered in her ear. She sobbed a few more times and looked up at him.

'He came back.' she said. Zuko frowned and wiped some more of her tears away.

'Who came back?' he asked.

'That man! The sick soul, the pervert, the guy who's ass you kicked a few days ago!'

Zuko gasped. He growled in anger and stood up, looked over the beach.

'Where is he? God, if he hurts you I swear I'll kill him!'

Katara leaned against the dune again.

'He's gone again. Yesterday, he just did it! I didn't even want him to do that! God, his tongue tasted horrible and his nails just bored through my breast, I think I have never been so scared before!'

Zuko growled even more and lost his temper. 'He WHAT?! That asshole! Where is he hiding? I'll kill him!'

He looked over the beach again and ran up the dune. 'What on earth gave him the right to do that to you? I've never seen such an injustice before in my entire life!'

Katara squattered down and averted her eyes. She knew very well what gave him the right, and it wasn't because of the marriage. Every man had the right to do that to her, just because they were men and she wasn't.

'I'm a woman, that's why…' she said. Zuko lifted and eyebrow and looked down on her.

'What do you mean?'

Katara crossed her arms. 'Women have to obey. We have no right in this world, the only right we have is the right to get married. But I wouldn't consider that as a right, most of the marriages women have in this town are against their wills. Our fathers have the right to give us to any man they want, so we can have children with that man. Men have all the rights in this world! If a man wants to rape a woman, the only thing he has to do is to pull her skirt up!' she said.

She looked up at him, with ab intruding gaze. 'And I am not overstating.'

Zuko gasped and slid down off the dune. He squattered down in front of her and had a sad look on his face.

'No, don't tell me that he… He raped you?'

Katara quickly shook her head. 'No, he didn't, thank God for that! My father heard my screams just in time, he made the guy go away.'

Zuko released a sigh in relief. 'I'm so glad that he didn't rape you!'

He held her tight and inhaled the scent of her hair.

'I don't want anything like that to happen to you, EVER!'

Katara swallowed something down her throat. What could she do? She didn't want to go home, Konu would be back tonight. And he was pretty close to raping her last night, so who knew how close he'd be to that this night. She didn't want to share her first time with him, and especially not if he had to rape her for that.

She squeezed in his shoulder a bit. 'Don't leave me alone anymore, stay with me forever! I don't want to be alone, I don't want him to get me…'

Zuko held her tight and closed his eyes.

'He won't, because I'll be there to kick his ass if he dares to come near you.'

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A few hours were passed, and Katara was alone at the dune, while the sun was setting already. Zuko left to get her some water, he said he'd be back soon. Katara sighed and bit on her lip.

How could she prevent the drama? How could she make sure that her first time wouldn't be with Konu raping her? She knew she could never escape to that destiny, that someday he'd be inside her. But she would NOT be a virgin to him.

An idea came up to her and she gasped. She didn't HAVE to share her first time with him, if only she would do it with someone else before him. That was one of the solutions.

The first one she thought about was Zuko. She loved him with all of her heart, the thought about sex with him seemed lovely to her. He loved her too, not because she had a nice ass and full breasts, but just because she was Katara. Her love for him felt more than pure enough to do this. Actually, she even really wanted to have sex with him. Even if it was just once, but she knew she wanted to do it, she had to do it.

She saw Zuko coming back with a bucket of water with him. A smile colored Katara's face, that prince really was handsome.

He sat down next to her and put the bucket in the sand.

'Okay, now there's enough water for a few more hours. I'll stay with you until you want to go home, okay?'

Katara smiled and pulled her legs up. 'Great! That means we'll have plenty of time!'

Zuko lifted an eyebrow. 'For what? Talking?' he asked. Katara laughed and crawled closer to him.

'Of course not, you naive boy!' she said, teasing him.

She pressed her body against his and caressed his chest. She held her lips by his ear and laid her other hand in his neck.

'Plenty of time to be together…' she whispered. Zuko blushed and swallowed something down his throat. He felt her tongue running over the curve of his ear shortly, making him tremble in desire. Her lips found their way to his mouth, which he automatically opened, so she could press her tongue between his lips. She slid her tongue over his, until she heard him groaning loudly. His groaning made clear to her that he enjoyed it, so she went a step farther.

She kindly kissed his neck on the softest spots, while her hands slowly opened the buttons of her dress. She pulled the white cloth aside, so a part of her chest became visible. She hided her nipples under the cloth, knowing he'd desire for her even more that way.

He stared at her breasts, a bit confused. '_Don't even think about it!' _his mind said, but he didn't know if he could control himself. So he tried to avert his eyes, but it didn't work. His gaze was locked on her most female properties.

After that, he simply gave up. He stroke her tongue with his and sucked softly, while his hands pulled the cloth down, so he could see the rest of her bare chest. A nasty smile appeared on Katara's face when she felt his his lips falling to her chest and breasts, while he moaned in desire. She knew he wanted her now, he would no longer be able to keep his eyes or hands off her. That was what she wanted, she wanted to share her first time with him and with no one else.

She pulled the rest of her dress down, so he could see her entire naked body. An other groan escaped from his mouth, making him hold her tight. He wanted to feel her naked body pressed against his, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more.

He rolled her on her back and crawled on top of her. Katara's hand squeezed in some sand, and she couldn't help to moan when she felt his warm tongue running over her breast, sucking softly, as if he wanted to taste her skin. A shiver ran through her body when he held his hands on her hips, and his tongue caressed her nipple. She wanted him so badly.

Unfortunately, Zuko suddenly stopped. He sighed and crawled off her.

'I'm sorry…' he said. 'God, I'm so sorry for touching you that way! You're just so beautiful and seducing, but…'

He averted his eyes and sighed again. 'But I'd be abusing you if I would go any farther.'

Katara bit on her lip. She held the white cloth over her breasts a bit, feeling embarrassed.

'But I really want to do this, Zuko, more than anything else for the moment!' she said. Zuko shook his head and sat down next to her.

'It can't. I mean, that would be way too soon!'

Katara slid against him and kissed him on his cheek, while she softly moaned his name. Zuko roughly pushed her back and frowned.

'I said no!' he snarled. Katara averted her eyes. She pulled the dress back over her head and bit on her lip. She had never felt so embarrassed before in her entire life. She had done her very best to seduce him, to make him desire for her, and he didn't even want to have sex with her. She could have known that, though she never thought about it. Suddenly she even wondered why she wanted him so badly. Maybe because she'd do anything to lose her virginity before Konu could rape her, or maybe she just really wanted him to make love to her. She sighed in disappointment and turned her head back to Zuko.

'I think I want to go home now.'

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They stood in front of her house, staring at the door. Katara doubted, she didn't knew if it was wise to go in. Konu probably was in there now, just as her father. She didn't really want to see them, not after what had happened yesterday.

Zuko averted his eyes and put his hands in his pockets.

'You're mad at me now, aren't you?'

Katara shrugged and shook her head. 'I can't be mad at you. It's just…' She sighed and averted her eyes.

'I gave you my entire body and still you refused me. It just feels so embarrassing, knowing that I did my very best but it wasn't enough.'

Zuko shook his head as well and held her by her shoulders. 'Believe me, Katara, it was more than enough to me. My mother just raised me too good, with too many manners and stuff like that. I think it's wrong to have sex with a girl you've just met.'

'But' Katara said, 'we know each other for almost two years by now!'

'A year ago we weren't making out on the beach.' he protested. Katara sighed and averted her eyes.

'I feel pathetic now, I sound so desperate…'

Zuko bit on his lip. She didn't understand him, her body really was more than enough to him.

Actually, it wasn't. Now he had seen it, he could hardly think about anything else. But his mother was right: a woman had to be treated with respect. He'd be disrespecting her if he'd just have sex with her, maybe she didn't even want to and kept that as a secret to him. Maybe she wanted to make it seem like she was a real woman, just by giving him her body. However, he really wanted to know how it would be like. To actually be inside of her, to share such a close moments, to be closer with her than he could possible be with anyone else.

Katara pressed a tender kiss on his lips and smiled.

'But it doesn't matter. You know, maybe we'll do this after all, an other time. But there's one thing I know for sure…'

She teasingly slid her tongue in his ear and felt him tremble.

'I have to do it with you, even if it would be just once.' she admitted.

Zuko held her tight and inhaled the scent of her hair.

'God, I love you so much…' he whispered.

After a few minutes, Zuko headed back for the palace. Katara waved at him one more time and opened the door, slowly.

She walked inside and her gaze ran over the kitchen. What a relief, Konu wasn't here.

Her father walked in the kitchen and gasped when he saw her.

'Katara!' he yelled in surprise. He held her tight, but Katara jerked him away. She glared at him, still upset about when he had hit her. He averted his eyes and sighed.

'I was so worried about you, Kuaru and Konu left once I told them you were gone.' he said. Katara rolled her eyes, she could care less.

'You hit me!' she snarled. Her father glared at her and crossed his arms.

'Of course I did! You had no right to be so disrespecting!'

Katara glared back at him. 'He had no right to grab my breast either!'

'Go to your room!' her father commanded. 'You have to know your place! And don't you dare to run away again, or believe me: you'll feel sorry for it!'

Katara growled at him and spit on his feet. He lost his temper and pulled her up by her hair, making her screech in pain.

'No dinner for you tonight! Or do you want me to hit you again?' he threated. Katara shook her head and pulled her hair out of his grip. As fast as she could, she ran in her room, just to escape him.

She closed the door behind her and released a trembling sigh. Her father had changed a lot since Konu came in her life. Konu just ruined EVERYTHING in her life.

She crawled in her bed and closed her eyes. The room was cold and dark, but she didn't care. She just wanted to sleep.

A few moments later, she felt an arm crawling around her waist. A hand was pressed on her mouth, making sure she couldn't screech. She was pulled against an other body roughly, and she felt someone's tongue in her ear.

'Guess who…' a voice said. Katara gasped and tried to release her selves from his grip, but his arm seemed to be sealed around her waist. She could cry in fear, it wasn't hard for her to recognize the voice…

Konu.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Wooh, that sure is a cliffhanger! Sorry if I made any of you feel disgusted by the passion-part in the story, I warned you several times! My personal opinion is that this chapter was fun to write and I did it in only one day, and this cliffhanger end screams for a quick update. Please review if you're reading this, the more reviews the sooner you'll have the update!- (I still have to write it, but that doesn't matter, I'll hurry!)**

**REVIEW!:D**

**...I just noticed now, how EASILY boys are manipulated... Sorry if there's a boy reading this story, but hey: you can't say I'm lying...**


	10. Chapter 9, promise

**At last it's here: the update! I thought I'd be nice to some of you and keep the passion down a bit in this chapter, but I didn't! _ADULT CONTENT!!! _There, that was the warning.**

**And if you reread the chapter before this one, you'd might know I'm not talking about Zutarapassion here…**

**BUT don't worry: next to the absolutely gross horrible awful terrifying thing that'll happen, there's Zutarafluffiness to cool your anger/disgust off.**

Chapter 9

Promise

Katara could no longer move, all her muscles were stiff in fear. A nasty smile appeared on Konu's face when he felt her shivering in his arms. Her fear gave him a feeling of power.

'Aren't you happy to see me again?' he asked, teasingly biting on the curve of her ear. She didn't answer him, she just closed her eyes, hoping for him to just disappear. One of his hands cupped her breast, squeezing a bit.

'You're a very naughty girl, you know. You're not supposed to scream when your future husband is with you…' He hid his face in her neck and slid his tongue out of his mouth, tasting the softest spots of her skin. His nails pinched in her breasts harder as his kisses grew intenser. She couldn't help to gasp when she felt him biting in her neck, while his other hand explored the rest of her body.

She wished she could cry, cry the fear out of her body, but she couldn't. She couldn't speak, or scream, or even defend herself. A small tear rolled over her cheek when she felt his tongue running over her shoulder, his hand sliding between her legs and his cross pressed against her. Once she realized him being almost naked, more tears streamed down her face. He really wanted to do bad things to her.

'You know what I want, you knew it from the very beginning…' he groaned in her ear. She pulled her legs on and locked her arms around her knees, as if she could protect herself against him that way. He roughly smacked her on her back and crawled on top of her, making her shudder in fear and disgust. His gaze was locked with hers and filled with lust.

'Work with me and I won't hurt you, much…' he threated. Katara cried out now. She tried to get him off her, but he wouldn't. He roughly ripped her dress off, he was so lustily that he had no problems with tearing the cloth apart.

As his kisses fell to her chest, he tried to find his way in her. Katara felt his cross sliding over hers, it finally woke her up.

She rose her voice and screamed loudly. When she noticed nobody would hear her screaming, she just tried to kick and hit him off her. But her hands simply smacked against his hard chest, he even seemed to enjoy her stirring underneath him. He just laughed at her, as if it was funny to feel her fear, and Katara couldn't help to scream again.

Suddenly, the window of her room was scattered to pieces. Someone jumped through the window and fell on the floor in her room, moaning in pain when he felt the chips of glass boring through his skin. He crawled up and gasped when he saw Konu on top of Katara, laughing loudly. He growled in anger and hit Konu off her.

'Stay away from my sister!' he snarled. Konu looked up at Sokka and glared at him. It was easy for Sokka to knock him down, since he was too exhausted by the laughing to defend himself. Sokka kept hitting him and pushed him down in the chips of glass. After that, he threw him out of the window in anger.

He turned his head to Katara and ran to her. He squattered down next to her and held her tight, trying to comfort her.

'Shhh, he's gone, Katara, he's gone… It's over…' he whispered in her ear. Katara cried more than she ever cried before, hiding her face in Sokka's neck.

'He… He was so close to… to…' Her stuttering was abrupt by her tears again, when she thought about what he had tried to do to her. And it wasn't just that, but also the fact that she had to marry that man. That she had to marry the one that tried to rape her.

And on the other side, she was angry. Very angry. Angry because she didn't even defend herself the first few minutes, angry because she had nearly lost her virginity to him. She swore herself that she would never let him come that close to her again, never.

Luckily, Sokka was there. Just as Zuko. If she wouldn't have had Zuko and Sokka, she would have been Konu's wife already. She couldn't keep the relationship she had with Zuko as a secret for her own brother, he understood her in every way, so he would probably understand her now as well. She swallowed her tears away and sobbed one last time.

'Sokka?' she whispered. Sokka looked up at his sister and Katara sighed.

'I have to tell you something…'

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zuko ran through the castle, looking for someone. The stirring thoughts he had about Katara were replaced by sorrows, once he noticed the door of his covert being broken. Sokka was gone, probably trying to find something to eat in the castle, but the guards wouldn't see him as a friend. If they would catch him, he would surely be killed.

Zuko was looking for hours by now, and still he had no idea of where he could be.

He ran back in his room, for the twentieth time by then, and someone slammed the door behind him. He turned his head and saw Sokka, his hand still on the door knob. He crossed his arms and stared at Zuko.

'So what does it feel like?' he suddenly asked. Zuko lost his temper and pulled Sokka up by his collar.

'Where the heck have you been?!' he snarled. Sokka didn't answer, he just repeated the question.

'I said: what does it feel like?'

Zuko frowned and growled in anger. 'What are you talking about?!' he asked, yelling in frustration. Sokka rolled his eyes and leaned against a wall.

'You know damn well what I'm talking about! What does it feel like to risk everything? What does it feel like to risk everything you have, just to be with my sister?'

Zuko wanted to react again, but the only thing that came out when he opened his mouth was a short gasp. Once he wanted to ask Sokka something, he was interrupted.

'You don't have to answer me, Zuko. It was a rhetorical question. I do hope you realize what I'm saying…'

Zuko's eyes grew bigger and he came a few steps closer to Sokka.

'How do you know this?' he asked.

Sokka stared at the floor in front of him. 'Katara told me. She told me everything. About how you protected her, how you two met each other on the beach, even about how you two keep meeting each other, every day.'

Zuko bit on his lip. A few moments of tensing silence passed by, and Zuko looked up at Sokka.

'Where is she?' he asked, concerned about the only love that rested him in life.

'Outside.' Sokka stared out of the window. 'She's upset, you know. A guy called Konu tried to rape her in her own room. I was there just in time to safe her.'

Zuko's eyes grew bigger and his mouth fell open in surprise and disgust. 'Someone tried to rape Katara?! MY Katara?!'

In anger he kicked against his covert, making the door of it scatter to pieces.

'Where is he! I'm going to kill him! I'm going to rip his guts out of his body! I'm…'

'Shut up!' Sokka snarled. 'Your anger won't solve anything! Katara's upset and the only thing you can say is "I'm going to kill him"! You should stay calm and go to your girlfriend, she needs you!'

Zuko averted his eyes. Sokka was right, Katara needed him now. He ran outside, looking for Katara. A few guards he met on the way tried to stop him for some reason, but Zuko didn't care. He only cared about Katara for the moment.

Finally, he saw Katara, standing in front of the gates. Paths of dried tears covered her cheeks, while she released a last sob.

'I'm scared…'

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zuko tried to comfort her, while they were sitting under the dune. He held her tight and soothed her a bit, whispering sweet words in her ear. Katara hid her face in his neck and listened carefully to everything he said, even when it didn't make any sense. His hand caressed her back kindly, while he pressed a tender kiss on her head. It was quiet, the only thing they heard was the sound of the ocean.

Katara looked up at Zuko and released a trembling sigh.

'I'm still scared, Zuko…'

Zuko soothed her a bit more and nodded slowly. 'I know, hun, I know…'

'Please,' she whispered, 'don't go away. Stay with me forever!'

'I will.' he said quietly.

'Promise me. Please, promise me!'

Zuko bit on his lip. Of course he wanted to stay with her forever, he'd stay with her even longer if he could, but how could he make a promise he couldn't even keep? A bright future awaited him, a future on the throne, working on the ideals of his father. Probably changing the so called woman-law. Yes, he would surely do that! Once he would have all the power in the firenation, he'd definitely change that law. It would make things better, it would make everything better. It would make things better for Katara, for his mother, for every woman living in the firenation. He'd make half of the world population feel better. But Katara was important to him, he couldn't hurt her by not making the promise. He couldn't make her suffer that way.

'I promise. I promise I'll stay with you forever, I promise I'll protect you against everything and I promise I'll do anything for you.' he said, knowing how impossible it sounded to him.

Katara released a sigh in relief and held him tight, smiling.

'Thank you, Zuko…' she whispered, before she fell asleep.

Zuko averted his eyes and sighed.

_Never tell a lie, never make a promise you can not keep…_

Zuko looked down on Katara, sleeping in his arms. How could he ever keep those promises?

**Growls Hate Konu… Love Zutara!-**

**Oh! I have to warn you! I think I won't be updating a lot until the 19th of December, that's when the exams are over. I can barely wait… BUT I'll update every story I have the 15th of December, that's my birthday!- Unfortunately, "never hurt you" is already finished and "living for the dream" is stupid to write, so they won't be updated.**

**Please review!XD**


	11. Chapter 10, intense love

**Phew, I'm still alive! (Kinda…) So I'm updating this story! Why? Because my mom said so!XD (I asked her to say a number: 3, 4 or 5, and she said 4, so I updated this story since it's my fourth!)**

**Enjoy this chapter!-**

**Oh, almost forgot: WARNING! WARNING! ADULT CONTENT! RUN, BI- UHM, I MEAN RUN, PASSIONHATERS, RUN!**

**Okay, I guess you understand me now. I thought that it was about time for Zuko and Katara to… Ah well, you know, do IT. Please skip the last paragraph if you prefer not to read adult content, because I'd prefer you not to flame.**

Chapter 10

Intense love

The sun rose again, while Sokka stared over the ocean and beach. He thought about his father, would that guy even notice him being gone? Katara knew now, but Hakoda still didn't. Would he EVER notice anything? He didn't even notice his own daughter having pain, having an affair with Zuko and having strange moods all the time.

His gaze ran over the beach, and a slight smile colored his face when he saw Katara sleeping in Zuko's arms. She seemed to happy and calm as she laid there, sleeping like a baby.

Zuko had changed a lot since he had his place in his family back, he seemed nicer now. He seemed like someone you could count on, someone that would be there for you when you needed him. Katara needed someone like that in her life, especially now. She was the kind of girl that needed someone to hold her, some she could trust and spent the rest of her life with. Zuko could be that someone, but Konu couldn't.

Konu was different, he was a man that couldn't possibly love Katara. He loved beautiful women, women that obeyed him and cooked his dinner. Woman that would take their clothes off whenever he wanted them to do that, women he could have sex with whenever he felt horney. But Katara wasn't one of those women, Katara was a strong girl with her own opinion. She wanted to live with someone she loved, Hakoda knew that, why wouldn't he let her to whatever she wanted?

'Why hello there!' someone said. Sokka gasped and turned his head, staring straight in Iroh's eyes. Iroh smiled friendly at him and shook his hand.

'Are you a friend of Zuko?'

Sokka bit on his lip and stared out of the window, in the direction of Zuko. 'Could be…'

'Oh! How nice!' Iroh said happily. Sokka smiled, he liked the way Iroh acted so friendly. He rubbed the back of his neck, while his gaze was locked on Zuko and Katara.

'I'm Katara's brother, Sokka. She asked me to-'

'Oooh!' Iroh said, nearly shouting in joy. 'Isn't that wonderful! Her brother! You two look a lot like each other, it's obvious that you two share the same blood. You're not too angry at Zuko, right?'

'No, not at all.' Sokka said, trying to be as polite as Iroh was. 'He's alright, and I'm happy to know that Katara has someone she can trust. She needs it, especially with Konu in her life.'

Iroh raised an eyebrow and gave Sokka a suspicious look. 'Konu?' he repeated.

'Yes, Konu. The rich guy she's going to marry, he lives somewhere near here. You know, in the house with all the flowers on the-'

'What?' Iroh said, yelling in surprise. 'Katara's going to get married?!'

Sokka nodded slowly, lifting an eyebrow. 'Yeah, hasn't she told you about Konu yet? I thought she did, since she and Zuko-'

'That's horrible! How could she EVER keep this as a secret form Zuko? Oh, poor Zuko, this'll break his heart!' He left the room, while Sokka gasped.

'Wait!' he said, trying to stop Iroh. But it was too late: Iroh was gone already, and Sokka was left behind. He bit on his lip and rubbed the back of his neck, while he slid down against the wall.

'I am an idiot…' he said to himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara opened her eyes and yawned quietly, not wanting to wake Zuko up. She looked up at him and noticed his eyes being closed, while she enjoyed the warmth of his arms around her waist.

As she cuddled closer against his chest, she couldn't help to think about the past days again. So many things had happened in such a short time. Her own father had given her to a man she didn't knew, her menstruation started at almost the same moment he told her about it, about a week later she met Zuko, only a day or two after that she fell in love with him, after that Konu tried to rape her and now she'd do anything to lose her virginity. She knew it for sure now: life was filled with many mysteries and miracles.

As still as she could, she turned and laid on top of him. His hands were resting somewhere on a lower spot of her back now, while she slid up a bit, trying to reach his face. She pressed a few tender kisses on the soft spot under his chin, doing the best she could to wake him up kindly. She pushed herself up, making sure she could lock his lips with hers.

Zuko woke up and gasped. He felt her lips pressed on his and his hands resting on her bottom now, while her breasts were thrilling close to his chest. What on earth was she doing?

Her tongue ran over his lips, trying to find her way in. Still, a part of her mind wasn't aware yet of what she was trying to do now. It seemed like she just wanted to arouse him a bit, just because she wanted him to make love to her as soon as possible. She didn't knew for sure yet whether it was because of the fear for Konu she felt, or because she really wanted to share her first time with him.

Zuko remained as stubborn as always and kept his mouth closed, not wanting to let her in. Woman had to be treated with respect, he couldn't just make out with her on this beach. What would his father think of this? He surely wouldn't approve this secret relationship, he wanted his son to be a decent firelord, not some kind of pervert screwing village girls. And being disobedient to his father was the last thing Zuko wanted to do.

'Katara…' he said quietly, while his hands slid back up to her back. 'Don't do that.'

Katara looked up in his gaze and her face expressed disappointment.

'Why not? What's wrong with kissing?'

'Kissing is fine.' he said calmly. He pushed her off him and sat up, looking down on her. 'But one thing leads to another. And like I said: I don't want to disrespect you.'

'Disrespect me?' Katara repeated, nearly sounding insulted. 'How on earth could you ever disrespect me when I WANT you to do that! It's not true that if you make love to a woman, you're disrespecting her! Aren't women allowed to be horney once or twice?'

'Ah, so we ARE talking about making love to each other!' he said, as if he had busted her on a crime. Katara bit on her lip and averted her eyes, while she pushed herself up from the sand.

'Yes, we're talking about that…' She looked up at him again and sighed. 'I'm sorry, I really thought you'd feel the same way about me like the way I feel about you.'

Zuko wanted to react on that, but couldn't find the right words. He bit on his lip and crawled closer to her a bit, lacing his fingers with hers.

'But I DO feel the same way about you. I'm just thinking about my father too much, he'd never want me to do this. As future firelord I have to wait until the honeymoon to make love to someone, not a day before that. It would be a disgrace if I'd break this tradition!'

Katara lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms. 'Tradition? Do you really believe that your father waited that long to make love to your mother for the first time?'

Zuko gasped and wanted to react on that, but couldn't say anything. She was right: his father and mother were nearly addicted to each other, until the day his mother died. There was no way that they would have waited an entire year to make love to each other, his father wasn't that patiently.

He sighed again and averted his eyes, staring at the sand. 'Okay, they probably didn't… And the other men in the firelord history probably didn't do that either.' he said. With a small smile on his face he leaned against the dune. 'Even worse: I'd probably be the first one doing that.'

Katara laughed a bit, pulling her knees up. Once she saw his gaze locked with hers again, a smile appeared on her face. 'So why would you break the tradition to break the tradition?'

Zuko laughed as well now. Their gazes were locked for a while, just staring. Katara saw his gaze running over her body, filled with lust. Now he knew making love to her wasn't a crime at all, it turned out to be the thing he wanted mostly now. A slight smile appeared on her face, this seemed like a rare opportunity to do what she desired for for days by now.

He bit on his lip when he felt her crawling on top of him again, while she threw her arms over his neck. She held him tight and pressed a kiss in his neck.

He groaned quietly when he felt her breasts stroking over his chest a bit, feeling the same desire he felt a few days ago returning in his body. He wanted to be in her, he wanted to share his first time with her, he wanted to proof her she was more than hot enough to him. No: he simply had to.

A short gasp escaped from her throat when she felt his hands resting on her bottom again, trembling a bit. Taking this rare opportunity, she tried to seduce him once again.

Her tongue ran over his lips, and this time he did open his mouth, making it possible for her to slid her tongue in. Kindly stroking her tongue over his, a shiver of desire ran through Zuko's body. He answered the kiss fiercely, while he squeezed in her butt roughly. Though he did his best to control himself, to stay calm and gentle to her, he realized the desire he felt was too much for him to handle. Katara didn't have to do very much, he rolled her down in the sand next to him almost immediately.

His kisses grew intenser as Katara moaned louder. She slid her dress over her shoulders a bit and threw her head in the back of her neck, giving him all the space he needed to kiss her there. His lips fell to the tender skin of her neck and his tongue ran over her collarbone, while a tickling pressure rose between her legs. It felt wonderful, he just HAD to go on.

He pulled her dress down a bit more, revealing her gorgeous breasts. He lowered his head again and his tongue slid over her breasts and nipples, making her groan loudly in desire. Luckily for her, he seemed to be in a rush and pulled the rest of her dress down roughly.

This time Katara wanted to see something of his body as well, so she tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head. He grabbed the shirt and threw it away somewhere in the sand, wanting to get rid of the rest of his clothes as soon as possible. He kicked his trousers out and felt her fingers fumbling at his pants, while he continued kissing her chest again. When she finally pulled his pants down, he tried to stay as kind as possible, doing his very best to not crush on her right away. She spread her legs, wide enough for him to enter her, and groaned loudly as he found his way in her.

Hidden in the shadows of the dune, Katara finally lost her virginity…

**I thought it was better to keep the icky details out of this, I mean: you all know what happened after that. No flames like "Eww gross!" or "Ah! That was the most perverted story I have EVER read!" or things like that, because I warned you once again.**

**So this was the birthday update I promised! (One day late I know...) Hope you liked it! Oh, and please review: ) **

**(Cheers quietly Finally one year older!XD)**


	12. Chapter 11, wrong

**Okay… Seems like we're getting close to the end of this story… Maybe in a few more chapters, it's the FINALE! So that means things are getting interesting now…**

**P.S.: does anyone here know The Rasmus and Anberlin? Just had to say: they rule!XD**

**Cough Uhm… Oh yeah, the story…**

**In this chapter we'll see how, how… uhm… How… Ah what the heck: just read it!**

Chapter 11

Wrong

A few hours passed by, and Zuko and Katara were still laying under that dune. They both had their clothes back on, while the sun stood high in the sky.

Zuko pressed a kiss on Katara's head, who was sleeping in his arms. He held her tight and inhaled the scent of her hair, still thinking about that morning. Damn, that probably was the best morning he ever had in his entire life.

'Zuko?' Katara asked quietly. Zuko gasped when he heard her voice, she seemed to be less asleep than he thought she was. She blushed a bit and bit on her lip, pushing herself up on her elbows.

'How was I?' she asked, a bit embarrassed. Zuko smiled and held her tight, kissing the back of her neck softly.

'You, Katara, were great…' he groaned in her ear. Katara giggled, leaning against his chest again. She closed her eyes and stroke her hand over his chest kindly.

'To be honest, I never thought sex could feel SO good…'

Zuko bit on his lip, while he looked down on her. 'You were scared, weren't you?'

Katara nodded slowly.

'Kinda… I was afraid things wouldn't work out, since you're already seventeen and I'm only fifteen. Did you notice?'

'Well, you seemed a BIT tensed, but don't care about that…'

He smiled and locked his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

'I liked the tension.' he said, giving her a quick wink.

Katara released a sigh. There were no words to express the happiness she felt now: she had lost her virginity! Finally she knew she wouldn't be a virgin to Konu, finally she knew he wouldn't be the one turning her into a woman. Maybe, now she knew she had lost her maidenhead, she'd have the extra strength to make it through these hard times. Maybe she'd be able to defend herself against Konu, something that would definitely be useful now.

'Are we going to do this again someday?' Katara asked, smiling at Zuko. Zuko smiled as well and released a sigh.

'I sure hope so!' he said. Katara sighed as well, closing her eyes again. Zuko smelled like sand and sweat now, the scent was lovely. And he had been kind to her, he had done his very best to not hurt her too much when she lost her virginity. Of course, it stung a bit, but the stunning experience after that made it all up. Even though they both were unskilled when it came to sex, it had been great.

'Man, I love you even more now!' Zuko said, as he held her tight. 'And I never thought it was possible for me to love you more.'

Katara giggled, listening to his heartbeat and breathing. Yes, this was the man she'd love for the rest of her life, she knew it for sure now!

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Later that day, Zuko made it back to the palace. He had a bright smile on his face, making the guards stare at him strangely. They all wondered why he was smiling like that, and Zuko knew pretty well why: he loved Katara more than anything else in the world.

Suddenly, his uncle ran in his direction. The old man stopped him and breathed heavily, as if he had been running for hours by now.

'Zuko…' he sighed, while he leaned forward, leaning on his knees to rest a bit. He looked up at him again and pulled himself up at Zuko's shirt.

'I have TERRIBLE news, my dear nephew. I'd wish I didn't have to tell you about this but it seems like I have to after all, you HAVE to know!'

Zuko lifted an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

'Okay… Go ahead, tell me what's going on. I can take it: NOTHING can ever ruin my mood today!' he said, pulling another smile over his face. Iroh took a deep breath, and released it as a sigh.

'Katara's going to get married.'

Surprising enough, Zuko smiled even more now.

'She is? And she never told me about it? Oh! I get it!'

'Zuko, it's not-' Zuko interrupted his uncle by shaking him back and forth. He laughed happily and made a joy jump, spurting a flame out of the palm of his hand.

'Yeah, I get it! She told you because she wants ME to propose to her! God, that's SO sweet and SO typical Katara! I love her SO much!' Zuko cheered. The courage Iroh had gathered to tell Zuko about it sunk him to the shoes, when he saw Zuko's cheering and laughing. He had NEVER seen his nephew as happy as he was now, and he had to ruin it…

'Zuko, please don't do this to yourselves. She's not getting married to YOU…'

Zuko's laughing was abrupt with a gasp, as he looked down on his uncle, his eyes growing bigger in surprise. 'Wha… What are you talking about?'

Iroh sighed again and laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. 'She's engaged, Zuko.'

Zuko gasped again. He stared at his uncle as if he had seen a ghost. Katara… engaged? No, she couldn't be, she would NEVER lie to him! She had seduced him, loved him, kissed him, so why would she ever do that when she's engaged? No, his uncle wasn't right. Katara was too sweet and good to do something like this.

He shook his head and stepped back a bit, trying to avoid his nucleus touches.

'You're wrong.' he said quietly. 'Katara would never lie to me, she loves me and I love her. People don't lie to each other when they're in love!'

'Zuko, I understand you're angry, but you HAVE to believe me: her brother himself told me about it!' Iroh replied, trying to convince his nephew.

'Shut up!' Zuko snarled. 'She would NEVER do something like this! I love her, goddammit! And if she'd be engaged, she wouldn't want me to make love to her, right? So it's NOT true! Katara's honest, sweet and kind, she's NOT the kind of woman that'd lie to the man who loves her more than anyone else could ever do!'

'But Zuko, her BROTHER told me so!' Iroh yelled back at him. Zuko ignored what he said and pushed him aside, heading back for the door. He looked back one more time and gave Iroh a nasty glare.

'You're wrong, uncle, and I know it for sure!'

Iroh walked after him and tried to stop him, but Zuko kept ignoring him. 'What are you going to do?' Iroh asked, a bit worried.

'I'm going to Katara, of course! You'll see: there's no reason for me to worry about her.'

Iroh stopped following him when his nephew ran over the beach, heading for the village. He released a deep sigh and averted his eyes.

'Great Agni above, please have mercy…' he whispered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara walked in her house and sat down on a chair in the kitchen, staring at the empty table. She missed her brother so much…

Hakoda came in and he saw his daughter staring a the empty chairs, while he frowned at her.

'Where have you been THIS time?! You escaped from your room last night, why on earth would you do something like that? Just to make me feel bad?'

Katara didn't answer to any of his questions, she simply ignored him. He had done too many bad things to her, he deserved his punishment.

Hakoda rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 'Oh, I get it: you're trying to make me feel like crap. But it won't work on me, Katara, you know that! I've been through too much pain to care about something like this!'

This time, Katara did react. She stood up and glared at him dangerously.

'If you've been through so much pain, then why do you want ME to do the same? Do you even REALIZE what you're doing to me! You're selling me off to someone you barely know, you're ruining my entire life!'

'Don't you talk to me like that!' Hakoda shouted. 'I'm still your father, and for the thousandth time: you have to know your place!'

He pushed her back down on her chair and pointed at her, as if he wanted to make clear he was talking to her. 'YOU are my daughter, your place is the place of a young woman, which place is lower than the place of a full grown man! And since I'm your father, I have the right to decide which man you'll marry and which man you'll never see again! And I decided that you'll marry Konu, so that's exactly what you'll do! You're going to marry him, have children with him and share the rest of your life with him, whether you like it or not!'

Katara felt like crying: the way he yelled at her, the way he forced her to marry Konu, even the way he poked his finger against her chest scared her. Was this man her father? The man who used to tell her stories before she fell asleep, who used to hug her whenever she had a bad dream? No, he was no longer her father, he was a man.

'Please… Please dad, I… I don't want to…' she sobbed quietly. Hakoda ignored her weeping and headed for the door, his gaze locked on her.

'But you have to. Why can't you just try to love Konu? It can't be THAT hard: he's handsome, he's kind and he loves you.'

A tear rolled over her cheek as she looked up at him with a misty gaze. 'That's not true, dad… He's ugly, he's annoying and he doesn't really love me, he only loves me because I'm a girl he can screw!'

Hakoda gasped. He hit her in the face hardly, making her fall off her chair. As her entire body trembled in fear and pain, he glared at her.

'Do NOT talk about Konu that way! You have to respect him, because whether you like it or now: you two are STILL engaged!'

Katara said nothing, whatever she said it always made him angry now. So she decided to remain silence, just to make sure he wouldn't hit her again, not again…

He opened the door, and just as Katara had expected, Konu walked in. Bandage was wrapped around his head and arms, probably from when Sokka threw him out of the window. She covered her face with her hands and released another sob, as he came closer and looked down on her.

'What happened to my dear Katara?' he asked. She could smell his lie through his soft voice, but Hakoda couldn't.

'I was forced to hit her once again, since she insulted her future husband. I couldn't let her do that, you see?' Hakoda explained. Konu pulled a fake frown over his face and pulled her up, his arm locked around her waist.

'Oh, but I can take an insulation. I don't think I'd EVER be able to hit my beloved Katara, she's so tender and vulnerable…' he said, as he kissed her lightly on the lips.

'Liar…' Katara whispered between his kisses. Hakoda bit on his lip and left the room, looking back at Konu first.

'I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then' he said, smiling.

Once Hakoda was gone, Konu roughly pressed Katara on the table. He had a grimace on his face as he leaned over her, staring in her eyes.

'Did you hear him, Katara? Lovebirds… Sounds nice to me.'

His tongue ran over her lips as one of his hands squeezed in her behind hardly. She roughly pushed him off her, making him lift an eyebrow.

'Why are you making things so difficult? You know you'll spend the rest of your life with me, so why won't you just TRY to love me? At least like me…'

'Fuck off!' Katara snarled at him, pushing herself back up on her elbows. Konu rolled his eyes and pressed her back down, licking her earlobe a bit.

'Now, now, naughty girl… Such a fowl language for a decent young lady. I thought your daddy raised you better than that.'

He rubbed his hand over her bottom and teasingly licked her lips.

'But don't worry: I'll be nice. Since we're already getting married tomorrow, I'll wait until after the wedding to make love to you. I'm sure Agni himself wouldn't want it in a different way…'

'Tomorrow?' Katara gasped. Unfortunately, when she opened her mouth to gasp, Konu grabbed his chance and slid his tongue in her mouth. He groaned loudly as he played with her tongue in a stirring, but to Katara disgusting way.

'Yeah, tomorrow…' he groaned in her mouth. 'Together forever, how does that sound to you?'

Katara shook her head with tears burning behind her eyes, while his other hand cupped one of her breasts. Lustily, he pushed himself against her, his kisses growing in intensity. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, playing with her tongue mercilessly.

Suddenly, Zuko ran in. He breathed heavily from all his running over the beach, until he had finally reached Katara's house.

'Katara, I have to tell you something: I-' His sentence was interrupted with a gasp, as he saw Konu pressing himself against her, kissing her fiercely. He stared at Katara and his mouth fell open in surprise when he saw her face, her eyes closed, as if she was enjoying his touches. Of course, Zuko couldn't know her eyes were closed in fear.

'Katara?' he asked, stepping back a bit. Katara moaned as she saw him, trying to push Konu off her. But her weak pushes and desperate moans made it all seem even more passionate, and Konu could only laugh with her attempts.

Zuko shook his head slowly. He couldn't believe his eyes: that was HIS Katara, laying there on the table, willing to the touches of someone else! This had to be a dream, a horrible dream, but it wasn't… His uncle was right: Katara had lied to him.

Konu finally noticed Zuko standing behind him. He recognized that guy, that was the same boy who had kicked his ass a few days ago! But this time, HE'd be the one kicking HIS ass.

'Excuse me, sir? Have you lost something here? Because my fiancé and I would love to have some privacy, you see…' he said. Katara gasped and wanted to react on that, but Konu roughly pressed his hand on her mouth.

'Well? Lost your tongue?' he asked. Zuko stared at Katara and shook his head, refusing to release the tears he felt.

'You horrible, horrible whore!' he snarled at her, his frown deepening in anger.

He couldn't take this anymore: that guy laying on top of her, Katara's delightful sounding moans… If he would have entered the room a few minutes later, he would have caught them on having sex, he knew it for sure!

He ran out of the house as fast as he could, heading back for the palace. His uncle wasn't wrong: he was right…

Tears streamed down Katara's face when Konu pulled his hand back, looking down on her. She sobbed and hid her face in her hands.

'How… How could you do this to me? You monster!' she yelled, making him laugh loudly. He crawled off her and pulled a grimace over his face, heading for the door.

'At least I know we'll be together for the rest of our lives now, the only competitor I had is gone.'

He opened the door and looked back on her one more time.

'See you on the wedding, Katara…' he said.

Once he was gone, Katara couldn't help to cry. What had he done to her? She knew it for sure now: her life was ruined, and she was doomed to live with Konu forever…

Why was everything going so wrong?

**Ohoh, plot's really working out here! The next chapter will probably be the last, DO NOT MISS IT!**

**Aaaargh I can't stand the tension myself!!! HAVE TO WRITE IT!!!**

**(P.S.:Please review)**


	13. Chapter 12, together forever slot

**It took me twelve chapters, but here it is: the final chapter! No time for long intros this time, the only thing you should do now is READ THIS AND KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS!!!**

**(P.S.: Yes, I KNOW Ozai's supposed to be young and healthy, but I wrote this BEFORE I saw Ozai's pretty young face. I always thought he was old(er), and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought that…)**

Chapter 12

Together forever

The next day, Zuko saw everything black. He was heading for his father's room and saw the doctors running from one side of the palace to the other, it was obvious: something wasn't right. So Zuko started to run himself.

He opened the door of his father's room and walked in, staring at the bed.

'Father?' he asked. His father looked up at him and pulled a light smile over his face, and with a hand motion he made clear to his son that he had to come closer. So he did, and he squattered down next to the man. Ozai coughed and stroke his hand over Zuko's head kindly.

'We have an improvement.' he said weakly. He expected Zuko to cheer now, but the only thing he did was pulling a smile over his face. Ozai frowned and pulled his son closer to him.

'What's wrong, boy? Aren't you happy now?'

'Of course I am, dad…' Zuko said quietly. 'I'm just in a strange mood today, that's all.'

Ozai sighed and wiped whatever was on Zuko's mind away.

'Anyway, that means I'll still be able to teach you. You'll turn out to be a great firelord: someone with love for his nation, care for his family and passion for his work. And of course someone who reminds the promises you had to make.'

He pulled Zuko's face up by his chin and stared him in the eyes. 'You DO remember the promises, right?'

Zuko took a deep breath and released it as a sigh.

'Never tell a lie, never make a promise you can not keep and never betray the ones you love.' he said, proving he hadn't forgotten about them. Ozai smiled and nodded in agreement.

'And are you keeping those promises?' he asked.

Zuko averted his eyes. He wasn't the one lying, Katara was. He wasn't the one not keeping his promise, Katara was. And if SOMEONE was betraying the one she loved, it was Katara. He was keeping his promises, he knew that for sure now.

'I am, father.' he said quietly.

Ozai took a deep breath and sank away in his pillow.

'Good, son. Now please excuse me, the medication is making me feel a bit drowsy… I'd love to enjoy a nap now.'

Zuko nodded and stood up, bowing for his father before leaving the room. He quietly closed the door behind him and released a deep sigh.

Katara… How could she EVER do this to him? She knew he loved her, she really did! He loved her from the first moment he saw her on the beach, from the first moment he ever touched her, from the first moment they ever kissed… Even the very first time he saw those beautiful, blue eyes back on the south pole, his soul was sold to her. Why was she torturing him on this cruel way? Why was she breaking his heart? His once so solid heart, that turned out to be fragile once it laid in her hands. And she simply scattered it to pieces, as if it was a game to her.

'There'll be more girls.' Iroh said suddenly. Zuko gasped and turned, facing his uncle. He sighed and sat down on the floor, leaning against a wall.

'No there won't, uncle…' he said sadly. 'I'm sure of it: Katara was the only girl I could EVER love, and she broke me.'

Iroh bit on his lip and squattered down in front of him.

'But Zuko: you'll HAVE to marry someone sooner or later, a firelord needs successors.'

'Then it'll be a political marriage, a marriage that has nothing to do with love. I can't do it anymore uncle! I can't possible find another girl that can look at me without staring at my scar, that treats me the way she did!'

Iroh remained silence. He simply threw his arm over Zuko's shoulder and sat down next to him, holding his nephew close. A smile colored his face as he closed his eyes.

'You've changed a lot, Zuko.' he said. 'Katara changed you VERY much. You're so much calmer now, sensitive and kind. Maybe it's also because you have your place in the family back, but I'm sure Katara has something to do with it.'

Zuko glared at his uncle and snorted. 'Wow, you're really making me feel better!' he said sarcastically. Iroh shook his head and rolled his eyes.

'I'm serious, Zuko! Even if she broke your heart, you've learned a lot about love when you met her. It's great to see how much you've changed.'

Zuko didn't reply anything to that. His gaze was locked on the floor in front of him, while Iroh kindly laid his hand on his shoulder, comforting him a bit.

'It'll pass…'

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara sat on her room, staring at the floor in front of her.

'So it really is going to happen…' she said to herself. Her father had found blood on her white dress a few days ago, but he hadn't told her anything about it. But the point was, that it gave him the chance to give her to Konu now. He hadn't waited a day longer than necessary, since he would give her to him today. Today probably was the worst day in her entire life.

She never really liked white dresses, the past weeks had changed a lot. A white dress was like a murder weapon to her now. And today, once again, she was been giving a white dress. Her wedding dress.

If she would marry someone else today, the dress could have been beautiful in her eyes. But now it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen. Of course, the villagers where pleased with the news of the wedding: to them it meant a party with free food. But to Katara it was horrible, maybe the wedding itself wouldn't be that bad, but the night after it was different.

She stared at the wedding dress in her arms, releasing a quiet sob. This night, Konu would probably rip the dress off her body roughly. And nobody would be there to stop him. He was SUPPOSED to do that tonight, everyone in the village expected this to happen. Thank god she was no virgin to him, that would have made everything even worse…

And once again, she couldn't help to cry. Zuko… She should have told him about it, but she couldn't. She simply couldn't. Great Agni above, what had she done? What kind of horrible thing had she done to deserve this faith?

Slowly, she took the white dress she wore out, and stared at the wedding dress. The moment she realized she still was naked, she took on the wedding dress. Maybe Konu would've watched her, and she refused to give him that joy. He'd see her naked once they were married, but now she still was single. He had no right to see her bare skin yet, not even a single inch of it.

Suddenly, the door opened, letting Hakoda in. He stared at his daughter in the wedding dress, pulling a fake smile over his face to hide his compassion. What had he done to his daughter?

'You look absolutely stunning.' he said quietly. Katara didn't react to that, she stared at herself in the mirror, a bit uncomfortable. The dress hided most of the skin on her legs, but if she'd pull the collar a few centimeters lower, she'd be as good as topless. She didn't want to walk to altar like this, especially not for Konu…

Hakoda bit on his lip a bit, before he took her hand and guided her outside.

'Konu's waiting by the altar, it's my turn to hand you over to him.' Again Katara said nothing. She only sobbed quietly, tears dripping off her chin, deep inside begging Agni to strike Konu with lightning.

Sokka crawled from under Katara's bed, where he'd been hiding for a while, making sure he could protect her. Of course, Katara didn't knew about him watching her, but that didn't matter. He still was her brother and he had the right to protect her.

He stared at his sister, who was the house slowly, heading for the church. No… He couldn't let this happen to his baby sister! He couldn't just let her entire life being ruined! There just had to be something he could do against this, someone he could ask for help…

At that moment, he had an idea.

He ran away, as fast as he could, heading for the palace.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iroh and Zuko were still sitting there, saying nothing. Iroh knew Zuko was sunken away in thoughts now, he needed some time to get over this relationship he had.

Suddenly, they heard a few guards shouting. Sokka ran in their direction, not sure whether he ran because of his sister about to get married, or because of the guards chasing him.

'Zuuuuuuuuko!' Sokka shouted. Zuko stood up and yelled something at the guards, commanding them to leave Sokka alone. Sokka was breathing heavily once he stood in front of Zuko, but there was not much time left.

'Zuko…' he sighed, still trying to breath. 'It's Katara… She… She's going to get married now…'

Zuko crossed his arms and averted his eyes, glaring at something invisible on the floor.

'So? Are you offering me a front seat or something?' he said sarcastically. Sokka shook his head and grabbed Zuko by his shoulder, roughly shaking him back and forth.

'You don't get it! She's going to get married to Konu!'

Zuko pushed Sokka back and lost his temper. 'And I don't think I want to know the lucky guy's name!' he snarled.

This time, Sokka wasn't planning on giving up. His sister was about to ruin her life, and Zuko HAD to help her. He was the only one who could stop this all. It was about time for that guy to wake up. So he hit Zuko in the face, hard, making sure he had his attention.

'Shut up, Zuko! I'll do the talking, and you'll shut the fuck up!' he shouted. 'Katara isn't in love with Konu, she doesn't even like him! It's a forced marriage, and she's the unhappy bride! Konu's just the son of a rich guy, and that's why she has to marry him: for the money! But it rips her apart, it's about to ruin everything, and she'll have to spend the rest of her life with him!'

Zuko gasped, rubbing his hand over the cheek Sokka had hit. Katara was about to marry someone she didn't even like? Sokka continued his story.

'The only one Katara loves is you, Zuko. And if you won't do something against this, you'll never forgive yourself! She'll never forgive you either! And neither would I!'

Zuko stared at something invisible in front of him. Katara… still loved him? How could she EVER survive a marriage, when she's in love with someone else? The words of his father ran through his mind again…

_Never tell a lie, never make a promise you can not keep…_

Zuko looked up by the last part.

…_and never betray the ones you love._

That's it: he had told Katara he loved her, and it was no lie. He had promised her to stay with her forever, and he was about to do that. And he loved Katara more than anything else in the world…

'I can't possibly betray her!' he said to himself. Iroh smiled and Sokka cheered, as they saw Zuko running away, heading for the church.

He ran and ran and ran, as fast as he could. Sometimes he tripped over something but he didn't care: he was NOT about to betray Katara.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Katara walked in the church, slowly. As the door opened, she saw Konu staring at her, giving her a nasty smile. Hakoda guided her to the altar, still not realizing what he was doing. But that didn't matter: it was too late to run away now anyway. It was about time for him to say goodbye to his daughter, and he always knew that day would come. But he had never expected her to go through a forced marriage...

Once they made it to the altar, he had troubles with letting go of Katara's arm. Eventually he did, before he joined the crowd. He stared at Katara, deaf for the words of the priest. That was his daughter standing there…

Katara's gaze was locked on the floor for minutes. She refused to look up at Konu when she heard him saying the words she had feared for so long by now.

'I do.'

The priest didn't even give Katara the chance to say "I do not", since he had been told about the situation of this marriage. The only thing she wanted now was to run, run away from this place, off to somewhere safe. But it was too late now… Things had gone wrong.

She was forced to look up at Konu, as he slowly leaned forward, ready to give her the sealing kiss. She wanted to spit in his face, but her father would probably hit her again if she did. It had no use anyway. She was doomed to spend the rest of her life with him from this day on.

Suddenly, the doors were opened. A bright smile appeared on Katara's face when she recognized the face of the man running in the church.

'Zuko!' she cheered. Zuko ran through the crowd, his gaze locked on the love of his life.

'Katara!' he yelled on his turn. Konu frowned, not understanding anything of this, and held Katara's hand tight, not wanting to let go. Katara gave him a firm kick between his legs, before she ran off the altar.

She ran to Zuko, jumping in his arms once they were close enough to each other.

The embrace made some people in the crowd gasp, and other people cheer. Zuko held her tight and whispered something in her ear.

'You're mine…'

After they heard those words, the entire crowd cheered. It was obvious that love conquered all. Zuko held Katara's hand and they ran outside, together. Konu's voice was a bit strange after Katara's kick, once he saw the couple running away.

'What the hell is going on here?!' he squeaked. He turned to Hakoda and started to complain, ask questions, and nag.

Hakoda had enough of it… Katara was his baby girl, she had the right to be happy, to love the ones she wished to love. What was wrong with him? Why had he done this to her? She loved someone else and she hated Konu, how could he EVER force her to do something like this? The answer was simple: he couldn't.

'Konu…' he said quietly, interrupting his nagging.

'Shut the fuck up.' After saying that, he hit Konu in the face, making him smack on the floor. Unconscious he laid there, giving Hakoda the chance to smirk. 'DAMN, that felt good!' he yelled.

Zuko and Katara were back on the beach. The sun was setting, as they stared each other in the eyes, breathing heavily from all their running.

Zuko felt like it had lasted long enough by now. He knew he'd love Katara for the rest of her life, and he knew that if he wouldn't do something now, she'd be marrying that Konu-guy. It was about time for him to do what he had dreamed of so many times the past days, but never really dared to say or do.

So he kneed down in front of her, taking her hand in his.

'Katara, I've been an idiot. I should've known you hate that guy, but I guess I was too jealous to see that.'

Katara wanted to react to that, but Zuko gave her no chance.

'The point is that I… Well, I…' He took a deep breath before continuing his sentence.

'I love you, I love you with all my heart. And I'm sure I'll do that for the rest of my life. Oh, and please, PLEASE don't break my heart by giving me a "no" as an answer to my question. Katara…'

He ripped some cloth of his shirt and wrapped it around Katara's finger, using it as a ring. A smile colored his face as he looked back up at her.

'…will you marry me?'

Katara couldn't help to cry again. Not because she felt sad, but in happiness this time. She pulled Zuko up and locked his lips with hers. No words were necessary, they both knew the answer. From this day on, they finally were about to be…

Together forever.

**Aww… A happy end, it's been a while since I wrote something with a happy end. **

**Well, I guess this is it… The story is over now, and I definitely hope you liked it. Thank you all for reading, I appreciate your attention a lot. I'd be pleased with a review of course, in case you'd want to, or in case you feel like you have to. **

**Zutara, to fight for what's right!**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

**(P.S.: Who's up for a sequel?: ) ) **


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